Angelina Jolie's words about hiding your children from the "pain and sadness you carry" are extremely powerful

Angelina Jolie is one of the most talked-about women in the world, particularly this month, with the 49-year-old actress returning to our screens with her new film, Maria.

The critically-acclaimed film, already tipped for multiple Academy Awards, sees Jolie star as famed opera singer Maria Callas, with the role earning the actress an eight-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

Jolie opened up about the emotional filming experience this week in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, explaining that with her children working on set, they were exposed to emotions that as a parent she would usually keep private.

"I’ve been a parent for 23 years," recalled Jolie, who shares six children, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne, with ex-husband Brad Pitt. "The most beautiful thing about being a parent is that you are not the center of your life. So you are leaving set, focused on something for someone. That’s your real life. Your real world. And that always is the majority of who you are.

"It really meant a lot that my boys were with me on Maria," she later continued, with sons Maddox and Pax assisting on the film. "When I would have really heavy times, they would come over and just give me a hug or a cup of tea. That was probably one of the more intense things," she recalled. "Usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it’s not in front of my children.

"You really try to hide from your children how much pain and sadness you carry. And so for them to be with you when you’re expressing it at such a level, I think it was the first time they ever heard me cry like that. That’s usually for the shower."

Maria will be available to watch on Netflix soon.