Angelina Jolie: Touched by an Angelina

The future isn't clear for actress Angelina Jolie, who's most famous right now for being Jon Voight's daughter. The movie she made with David Duchovny, Playing God, was a disappointment, but many in Hollywood, especially those who've seen her in HBO's Gia, see good things to come.

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I know something about most of the people I interview long before I read the background material on them. Not so with Angelina Jolie. If David Duchovny hadn't told me how great she was to work with on Playing God, I'd never have heard of her. So if right now you're going, Angelina who?, I don't blame you. She played a computer freak in Hackers, but nobody saw that one. Even fewer saw her in the teen flick Foxfire. She starred in TNT's George Wallace opposite Gary Sinise, but... did you see it? Only the hardest-core Duchovny fans went to Playing God. And there was no way to know that the uncredited babe in the Rolling Stones video for "Anybody Seen My Baby?" was Jolie. All of which makes it perfectly understandable that even people who know the name Angelina Jolie still think of her mainly as Jon Voight's daughter.

So why talk to Jolie for the Young Hollywood issue? Because she's kind of a special case among the group of young actors who are more successful than most people ever get, yet haven't broken through to real stardom. First, there's her appearance. She's uniquely, exotically beautiful. She's, got the body teenage boys dream about--strong, small, but with big breasts. She's got a face with features that seem too amazing to fit together--eyelids as large as the Sahara, a pert little nose, lips like the ones Goldie Hawn was trying to buy in The First Wives Club (Jolie's are natural).

But apart from looks, Jolie seems to have life experience smoldering in her eyes, more than her 22 years would explain. One Industry person commented about her, "There's an old soul in there, and a force that's going to defy nature." And when I watched her as the out-of-control model in HBO's Gia, which aired in January, I saw that, too. She brings an edge and intensity to the screen that knocks the hell out of what most waify young Hollywood actresses her age can do. And she also has a womanliness that stands out from the wave of girlishness that's rolled over Hollywood for the last few years.

Jolie's apartment is located in one of New York's oldest buildings. The hallways are so gothic and creepy I figure Rosemary's baby must live here. As I near Jolie's door, I see a gigantic box with the words DANGER! ASBESTOS! written on the side. As I'm staring at it in astonishment, Jolie opens the door, reaches an arm out and snatches me into the apartment before slamming the door shut. "What the hell is that?" she asks, as if I'm the building superintendent. "They put it there this morning and I'm not sure if it's safe for me to stay here."

I'm speechless, not because of Jolie's behavior, but because of her head--she is nearly bald.

"What do you think?" she asks, forgetting about the asbestos and rubbing her hand across the one-eighth inch of stubble on her head.

"It's fantastic," I tell her honestly. "There aren't too many women who could get away with it."

"At the end of Gia, my character dies of AIDS. And they were wondering how to show how wasted she was. One night I realized that the only way to do it was to just shave all my hair off. I think everyone thought it was going to freak me out, but the truth is, every woman hates her hair, and now I don't have that to worry about! It made me feel really fierce."

Jolie's apartment is spacious, but something about the living room decor--two black leather couches, a few wooden tables, a piano in the corner--shouts, I'm-new-at-this-grown-up-thing. Jolie sits on one of the couches, pats the spot next to her, and beckons me to sit down.

"Nice," I say, waving my hand at the blank walls.

"I know," she says with a laugh. "I just got here a few months ago, and I like things simple, but I can see from your look that you think this is a bit minimal."

"I just wonder about someone who doesn't put any pictures on the walls," I say, settling into the couch. "So, let's talk movies. I did a story on David Duchovny last year right after he did Playing God with you, and he told me how great he thought you were. The film was certainly disappointing, though."

Jolie nods, not about to dispute the facts.

"But I remember that when I read the script," I continue, "there was a great sex scene between you and Duchovny that was sorely missing in the film."

"It got really confusing. I think what happened was my character and Tim Hutton's character had a real sexuality on the page. There were scenes to show how they had come to form this relationship, and how it worked for them. But then she meets David's character and she falls for him, too. So there was this scene they had, where he's coming off junk and she's just been shot in the breast, and they make love."

"Ouch."

"Exactly. I knew that people say that junkies want to have sex when they're withdrawing, so that wasn't really the issue. But how the hell would this woman be in this position, so to speak? All I could think was that this woman would not want to be fucking at this particular time. We did film the scene, and it was so funny. My breasts were purple and I couldn't use my right arm, and David is working on being a junkie, and we're trying to have sex. He's spasming and I'm writhing in pain. I'm on one arm trying to flip over, and he's got to be in a certain position.... Let me tell you, there was absolutely nothing sexy about this at all. I was glad they cut it out of Playing God."

I'm not going to argue with Jolie, but I'd like to see this sex scene. And even if it didn't help Playing God, it couldn't hurt it. Gia, on the other hand, is full of sex scenes, but with the same sex. Some critics have said she was so good at it that maybe she wasn't acting.

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