Angelina Jolie Says Daughter Shiloh Influenced Her Role In 'The One And Only Ivan'

Angelina Jolie shared how her daughter Shiloh Jolie-Pitt influenced her to take the role in the upcoming family adventure-drama movie "The One and Only Ivan."

The "Maleficent" actress credits her firstborn for her involvement in the movie because it was her who made Jolie aware of the elephant's story. Apparently, Shiloh read the book about Ivan and loved it, so she shared it with her mom.

"Well, Shiloh years ago told me that she had read a book that she loved and she wanted me to read it," Jolie told Entertainment Tonight.

"I read it on my own and then we looked at some of it together and we talked about why she loved it. Then, I inquired if it was being made -- as you do -- into a film, and I found out that it was kinda in the works but kinda hadn't [been] figured out."

Jolie added that she tried her best to stick to the story in the book, from the development to the adaptation process. In fact, her main focus was to "push it to stay as true to the book as possible."

Jolie is hopeful that the movie would touch people's lives because the audience could easily relate to it due to the pandemic. Many people have been struggling with being confined amid the lockdown and Ivan's story is similar to that.

"We didn't know when it would be coming out. We didn't understand, and it being something that is seen at home, where a lot of people are feeling confined, trying to hold onto their friends and trying to better themselves, trying to understand the world around them," Jolie continued.

"It is coming at a different time and I hope it does really resonate with people and also gives them some sense of hope. Because a big part of this is looking at what you do have and then helping others. The story says, you know, it's never too late to discover who you are and to push forward with that person and to better [yourself] and to be a better person and to make that choice.”

Earlier this month, Jolie also spoke about the movie and praised the cast, including Sam Rockwell, Danny DeVito, Chaka Khan, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Ron Funches, Phillipa Soo and Mike White. The actress said the film has the "greatest casting ever."

"The One and Only Ivan" premieres exclusively on Disney+ on Aug. 21.