Angelina Jolie was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the world of acting. Her father, Jon Voight, rose to fame in the ’60s when he played the role of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy. That role earned him an Academy nomination, He won himself more fans with 1972’s Deliverance. When Angelina’s career was in its infancy, her mom, Marcheline Bertrand, would drive her to auditions. Perhaps Marcheline knew the hustle too well because she herself had gone down the same road, albeit on and off. Marcheline’s acting career began in 1971 as Connie on Ironside. She later took a 10-year hiatus and spent some time behind the lens.
Her parents’ achievements aside, Angelina Jolie has done well for herself, despite the ups and downs of her career. What says ‘accomplished actress’ more than an Academy award? The journey, for Angelina, didn’t start easy, as she was termed as ‘too dark’ when she attended casting calls. Despite making the decision to pursue acting in her teens, early rejection did not break her. Angelina managed to carve an illustrious career path, and we’re here to highlight some of her major boss moves:
10. Abandoning A Modeling Career
Just like every other teen, Angelina Jolie tried a few things before finding the career that fits. Her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, made a modest income and wanted Angelina to be a model instead. Angelina’s slim frame was already an added advantage. Despite her mom’s attempts, pursuing a modeling career proved to be futile. She abandoned the path altogether.
9. Appearing In Her Brother’s Student Films
Since she was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in the acting business, Angelina did not need to go too far to get her humble beginning. Her older brother, James Haven, had enrolled at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinema-Television. While at the institution, Haven made student films, five of which had Angelina Jolie as the star. One of his films received a George Lucas Award.
8.Enrolling At An Acting School
Even the best of actors will tell you that a little training goes a long way. With this in mind, Angelina enrolled at The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and studied acting. Prior to this, her only experience was through Lookin’ to Get Out, a 1982 film in which she appeared alongside her father. Angelina stayed at the institution for two years. During her time at the New York-based school, she appeared in many stage productions. In her later years, she would use some of Lee Strasberg’s techniques in her own acting, like staying in character in between shoots.
7.Making The Choice To Pursue Professional Acting At 16
Although Angelina Jolie’s dad was a very successful actor, it wasn’t his career that inspired her. It was watching films with her mother when she was young. Despite the fact that she’d earlier dropped her acting classes to become a funeral director, she changed her mind and set sights on Hollywood. Her early attempts at auditioning were not so well received as she was considered ‘too dark’.
6. Appearances In Music Videos
What’s the best thing to do when things are not quite going as planned? Find a detour within the same industry. For Angelina, it was appearances in music videos, including Lenny Kravitz’s ‘Stand by My Woman’, and Antonello Venditti’s ‘Alta Marea’, both of which were released in 1991. At the time, Angelina was still sixteen, young, and not one of the highest-paid actresses. Music videos were the ideal places to grow her portfolio. Asked about what she’d tell her younger self in an interview with extratv, she said, “One thing leads to another.”
5.Her First Leading Role
Denzel Washington, in reference to acting, once said, “ I tried again, and failed. But I did catch a break. If you stay long at the barbershop, you’ll eventually get a haircut.” In the same spirit, Angelina’s first big break came in the form of Cyborg 2, a science-fiction film directed by Michael Schroeder. The film, set in 2074, was a sequel whose setting and events took place years after the first film.
4. Taking A Break From Acting
It’s something we’ve all done once in a while; we keep going even when it’s not worth it. Not young Angelina. After the first film, she was unimpressed. So disappointed she was, that she did not attend any audition for close to a year. This trend would constantly recur in Angelina’s life. Most notable was when she took another break from acting, after her divorce from ex-husband Brad Pitt.
3. Making An Unapologetic Comeback
After a year-long hiatus, Angelina Jolie set the ball rolling. This time, a little wiser. In the years following Cyborg 2, she appeared in Without Evidence (1995), Hackers (1995), which was her very first Hollywood picture. Her role in Hackers was considered conspicuous. The New York Times said she ‘stood out’. 1996 came with Love Is All There Is and Mojave Moon. At this point, it was clear that Angelina was serious in the business.
2.Breezing Through Negative Criticism
Anyone who makes art knows the pain of having it poorly received. Early in her career, especially when things had started to take off, Angelina got her fair share of negative press. For instance, Roger Ebert wrote: “She finds a certain warmth in a kind of role that is usually hard and aggressive; she seems too nice to be [a mobster’s] girlfriend, and maybe she is.” Robert Strauss, on the other hand, termed her as a ‘fourth-rate Scarlett O’Hara’.
1. Her Big Break: ‘George Wallace’
Despite the criticism, Angelina Jolie persisted and caught a break bigger than the first one. She gained more recognition for her role in George Wallace, a biographical mini-series that earned her a Golden Globe award. The best was yet to come through 1998’s Gia. The role was portrayed ‘fiercely’, according to Vanessa Vance of Reed. She took a short a short break yet again but was drawn back into the business by the good reception of Gia, and her Golden Globe Award. The rest, as they say, is history, as Angelina has since come a long way.
Source: thethings
