LOS ANGELES — Hollywood
star Angelina Jolie has talked about a life-changing movie that led her to call
Cambodia home and how she almost turned it down.
The 49-year-old star was asked where she considers home to
be during a conversation about her life and career at the Santa Barbara
International Film Festival, where she received the Maltin Modern Master Award,
reports people.com.
“In my heart, Cambodia. My first trip was Tomb Raider, where
you saw me hanging upside down (in the clip),” said Jolie.
She then opened up about how life would’ve looked very
different for her if she didn’t say yes to certain opportunities, including the
2001 blockbuster “Tomb Raider” that was inspired by the video game of the same
name.
“I learned something about life. I think about my life and
the amount of things I almost didn't do, almost missed, that would've changed
the course of my life. I said no to Tomb Raider when I was first called.”
When asked why she ultimately agreed to play Lara Croft in
the film, Jolie said that the adventures she was promised to go on swayed her
decision.
“They said, ‘You can travel the world and train with the
British military.’ And I said, ‘I will wear the shorts for the first five
minutes and then I'll never wear them again.’ And that's true. And that's the
movie. That's actually what happened.”
While Tomb Raider may have brought her there, the Oscar
winner formed a deep connection with the Southeast Asian country by adopting
her first child, Maddox, a year after the film was released.
Maddox told people.com in 2017 that he helped out on the
film whenever he could, whether it was pitching in on meetings, prepping for
shoots and helping to review dailies.
The drama, directed by Jolie, is based on her friend Loung
Ung’s memoir about surviving the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia.
Along with Maddox, Jolie shares Pax, 21, Zahara, 20, Shiloh,
18, and twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline, 16, with ex-husband and
Hollywood star Brad Pitt.
