In a revealing interview with BBC News, Angelina Jolie spoke about how filming her biopic about Maria Callas led to unprecedented emotional vulnerability among her children on set, particularly sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 21, who worked as production assistants acted.

“They had seen me go through a lot of things, but they hadn’t yet seen me express a lot of the pain that parents usually hide from their child,” Jolie told BBC News of her sons, who welcomed her portrayal of the troubled Opera experienced legend. The typically private star added that the experience created “a new way” of being honest with her children about her feelings.

The Pablo Larraín-directed film “Maria” marks a significant return to starring roles for Jolie, with early buzz, including a Golden Globes win for the actress, pointing to possible Oscar consideration. The project required seven months of intensive operatic training from the actor, who admitted before taking on the role that he was “pretty shy about singing.”

“When opera class started, what was required was the breathing, the body and the strength of what you push through yourself, it was just a whole different physicality,” said Jolie, whose singing scenes fuse her voice with original recordings of Callas.

Director Larraín praised Maddox and Pax’s contributions on set, with Jolie revealing that Pax recorded her first vocal training sessions. “It’s always good for your children to see your mother not doing something lightly, but cursing and fighting and failing and having to try again,” she reflected.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, “Maria” focuses on Callas’ final years in 1970s Paris. The world premiere took place in Venice and received an eight-minute standing ovation. The film’s New York premiere in September was attended by Maddox, Pax and her sister Zahara.