Angelina Jolie Says She Tries to 'Hide' Any 'Pain and Sadness' from Kids as She Recalls First Time They Saw Her Sob

The actress says it "really meant a lot" to her to have her two sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, with her on the set of 'Maria'

Angelina Jolie is opening up about the moment her sons caught her in an emotional state.

When speaking with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release of her new film Maria, the actress, 49, recalled her experience working on the movie alongside her two sons Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, whom she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt. The proud mom expressed how working on the film brought on some "heavy moments," leading her sons — who did assistant directing work on the movie — to see their mom cry in a way they hadn't seen before.

"I’ve been a parent for 23 years. 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," the mom of six explained to the outlet, adding, "I have never had a set where my family is not allowed to be there because I’m focusing — I’m not that person. You can climb all over me or visit."

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Related: Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 6 Kids: All About Their Sons and Daughters

She continued to share that having her sons working with her on Maria "really meant a lot to her," as they were there to support her through tough times on set.

"It really meant a lot that my boys were with me on Maria. 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 was that — usually when I’m expressing that much pain, it’s not in front of my children," she admitted. "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."

Jolie then joked, "That’s usually for the shower."

As for Maddox and Pax's growing career in the film industry, Jolie reveals that she believes it's "good for them."

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"Mad and Pax were on this one doing AD [assistant directing] work," she said. "They’ve done that quite a few times, and I think that’s good for them. Pax tends to do stills and he gets brought in, and [director] Pablo [Larraín] was wonderful and recognized that he was good at it."

While Jolie took a break from acting and directing because "I needed to be home more with my kids," she's now appreciating her little ones' growing independence, calling it a "a new season in our lives."

"They’re a bit older, getting more independent. I’m less needed and so able to go away for different periods of time," she shared. "And they’re old enough to join me at work. It’s a new season in our lives. I’m very excited for them to be coming into their own more and more every day."

In addition to Maddox and Pax, Jolie is mom to Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16

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