Angelina Jolie Reveals Why She Doesn’t Want To Be An Actor

Angelina Jolie has been acting for over 30 years, but it might not last much longer. The actress revealed that she recently realized she doesn’t want to be on screen anymore and said that she only started her career for her mother.

The “Maleficent” star recently sat down with Domhnall Gleeson, who she directed in “Unbroken,” to talk about his future and “Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens” for Interview magazine. The Q&A discussion also touched on Jolie's career.

“My mom always wanted me to be an actor,” she revealed. “And I started going to theater and going on auditions young. I only realized about five years ago that I actually didn't want to be an actor.”

Jolie, 40, is the daughter of actors Marchelind Bertrand and Jon Voight. Her mother died of ovarian cancer in 2007. While Jolie knows that Bertrand pushed her into acting, there doesn't seem to be any hard feelings. Jolie continually praises her deceased mother.

“My mother was a full-time mother — she didn’t have much of her own career, her own life, her own experiences — everything was for her children,” she told “60 Minutes” in 2011. “I will never be as good of a mom as she was. But I will try my best.”

The mother of six explained that she doesn’t like acting because she doesn’t enjoy being the center of attention. “I'm a very private person,” she explained to Interview. “I don't go out much. I'm home with kids. I go to work. I don't really like being the focus of attention, which is why I like being behind the camera more.”

The idea that Jolie prefers directing isn’t new. When she was promoting “Unbroken,” the Academy Award-nominated film she directed, she told reporters that she “absolutely” planned to quit acting entirely eventually. “I’ve never been comfortable as an actor,” she told DuJour in 2014. “I’ve never loved being in front of the camera. I didn’t ever think I could direct, but I hope I’m able to have a career at it because I’m much happier.”

Still, it doesn’t seem like Jolie is quitting her on-camera job yet. She’ll next appear in “By the Sea” alongside husband Brad Pitt. She also wrote and directed the film, which is slated to come out on Nov. 13.