Angelina Jolie Says Her Kids’ Mother’s Day Surprises Always Make Her Cry, Plus: She Talks New Thriller

Angelina Jolie is back on the big screen with “Those Who Wish Me Dead.” She plays Hannah Faber, a smokejumper with PTSD who blames herself for a tragedy. She crosses paths with Finn Little’s character, a 12-year-old boy on the run after witnessing a murder.

“Extra’s” Nate Burleson caught up with Angelina and Finn to talk about the action-thriller, and to get Jolie’s take on Mother’s Day.

Jolie — the mother of Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne — told Nate, “It does mean a lot to moms, so try not to forget it… My kids have always been amazing at Mother’s Day. The fun for me is that I don’t plan anything, I don’t do anything, and they all tend to work together to surprise me with something. It is just the knowing that they are doing something together, and thinking of something together, and that they want to, and that they think it is important always makes me cry. They always joke about how quickly it makes me cry. They will laugh at how many times I cry in the day or how quickly I cry… ‘Oh, there she goes…’”

Speaking of “Those Who Wish Me Dead,” the star is happy to be back in the action genre after almost a decade, sharing, “I’ve been very lucky. It’s a bit of therapy. I’ve gotten to step into roles like this when I’ve needed to start swinging again.”

Finn was familiar with Angelina’s work before they teamed up for the film, saying, “I had seen ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,’ and was a big fan of ‘Maleficent,’ so I was very familiar with her and I was excited to work with her… We’re definitely screen partners and it will definitely come across in the film. I learned a lot being on set… and I’m sure I’ve learned a bunch from Angelina just watching her act.”

The movie may be an action film, but it also goes to some heavy places for Angelina’s character. Jolie said, “I can’t tell you everything... She starts being very broken, failed her psych exam… We all have those moments in our lives, where just don’t know what we’ve got in us… we’re low. It was important for me, at that moment, to see if I could do it, and to get literally through the fire... It felt like a good run we had together, and a good fight to push ourselves as people.”

Nate pointed out that May is Mental Health Awareness Month, asking, “How important is it for all of us to remember that it is okay to not be okay sometimes?”

Jolie answered, “It’s everything. It is those scars you can’t see… A lot of times, the strength is something that comes from having to survive something quite painful, survive a loss, survive something that broke inside you, feeling alone, whatever it may be, each person’s journey, you find that strength… So yes, it is extremely important we all talk about where we need help and who we are, and I’m certainly one of those people.”