Angelina Jolie Wanted A Role In 'Eternals' Because The Characters Reminded Her Of Her Own 'Unconventional Family'

When Marvel announced in 2018 that they were bringing their superhero comic Eternals to the big screen, no one could have predicted that Angelina Jolie would nab one of the coveted roles, as the actress' most recent films haven't been action-heavy.

To boot, director Chloé Zhao is known for working with non-professional actors.

However, she believed that the mom-of-six, as well as the rest of her costars like Salma Hayek and Kit Harington, would be capable of fully embodying their humanoid characters.

"I don't think we realized that until we really got there. It really felt like she was pulling out of us something that was more personal, from a deeper side of ourselves," the Salt star expressed to Entertainment Weekly. "She wasn't looking to put something on top of us, like a character. She was looking for us to reveal ourselves as the character."

Though Jolie had to take ballet lessons and needed to learn how to use swords and spears for the role, the transition was easy.

"I just wanted to be a part of this family," she shared of joining the Marvel universe. "I have a slightly unconventional family myself, so it felt familiar."

The humanitarian shares sons Maddox, 20, Pax, 17, and Knox, 13, as well as daughters Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 15, and Knox's twin Vivienne, with ex-husband Brad Pitt.

"Standing there next to each other, the first time we all stood in our suits together and took off our secrecy cloaks and had to stand there for the shot, what you felt was just a lot of support," recalled the Oscar winner of working with her costars. "We were smiling at each other, and there was just a lot of kindness."

The cast bonded in no time, even socializing after work hours, with Jolie inviting her colleagues to her Halloween party.

"You might not expect them to be in the same room in real life. It might be a bit like, 'Oh, I didn't expect this group of people was going to be a family,'" Zhao acknowledged. "But almost right away, I felt like they each found their place in the family unit."

Eternals is scheduled to hit theaters on November 21.