Angelina Jolie has described a 'dark' period in her life after moving away from Hollywood.
The Girl, Interrupted actor, 49, is currently embroiled in a lengthy court case against her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, 61, over their winery.
She was in a high-profile relationship with Pitt from 2006, after they met on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith.
The pair went on to get married in 2014, before going their separate ways in 2016.
Since the split, Jolie has alleged that Pitt was physically and verbally abusive to herself and their children while on a private jet in 2016 – claims that he has denied.
Together, the former couple share Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18 and twins Vivienne and Knox, 16.
Angelina Jolie's new film Maria is her first acting role in three years (StudioCanal)
Jolie had been on an acting break before filming Maria, which was released this year and saw her receive a 2025 Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award nomination.
She even was able to work with her sons Pax and Maddox on set.
Before the film, Jolie’s last on-screen performance was Marvel's Eternals in 2021.
But she did go on to work behind the scenes, co-producing The Outsiders and directing Without Blood.
However, the 49-year-old has experienced ‘dark’ times during her break.
In a new Vanity Fair interview, the actor said: "I went very dark for reasons I’d rather not explain, but I didn't have a lot of light and life within me.
"Your light's dim."
Because of this period, she shared that she ‘needed to be home more, so I couldn’t commit large periods of time to pieces’ and noted that it wasn’t down to a ‘creative choice’ as to why she chose to work on certain projects, it was a ‘practical choice’.
But for Jolie, her role in Maria ‘was the beginning of starting to come alive again’.
The star explained: "I needed a lot of kind people around me to hold my hand.
"At the end of the day, we’re very fortunate to do what we do, and we are spending a lot of time with big, deep, emotional feelings. If you don’t do that with people who you're safe with, it can affect you in very bad ways."
Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt in September 2016 (Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
While not going into detail about the cause of her hiatus, she did reveal that she just ‘wasn’t myself for a while, so I wasn't able to give as much to my work for a few years’.
Jolie added: "To feel like I could work again and communicate and to be with nice people – so much of what I do is collaboration with other artists.
“When it goes well, you’re creating together. When you’re with nice people and creative people, you learn so much about yourself and about life."
In another interview with The Sun, Jolie opened up on her alone time since her divorce from Pitt.
She said: “I have my children I love but as an adult I’m often alone. I find myself identifying with the solitude and loneliness she has.
“I also haven’t quite figured out how to live life in a way where I’m on my own.
“Maybe a lot of artists feel that we’re in an open space as a person.
“We don’t quite settle. So it leaves us in a strange way sometimes.”
Featured Image Credit: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images/Taylor Hill/WireImage
