Having it all the Angelina Jolie way

Having it all the Angelina Jolie way

Angelina Jolie plays a long-suffering wife trapped in a loveless marriage with a CIA agent in new drama The Good Shepherd, opening on February 23. She explains why she and Brad Pitt are more focused on adding to their family than getting married.

It was the worst kept secret on the planet, but now that angelina jolie and brad pitt have come clean about their relationship, the once-elusive star is positively shouting it from the rooftops.

The besotted actress insists the affair didn't start while they were shooting their movie Mr And Mrs Smith, and is adamant that Brad Pitt had already split from ex-wife Jennifer Aniston before they got together.

But she admits there was a special bond from the moment angelina jolie met the hunky actor.

"I got a good feeling about Brad Pitt straight away," angelina jolie says blushing. "But I never expected to become involved with him. I was happy as a single mother, but we stayed good friends after filming. I think we knew we f elt something for each other."

The pair are now inseparable and have sealed their love with the birth of their baby daughter, Shiloh, born last year. Brad has also become a hands-on dad to angelina jolie's adopted children, Maddox, five, and Zahara, two.

Angelina jolie can't contain her joy that they are now one big, happy family.

"Brad is a wonderful father," she beams. "Raising kids is hard but it's also a great joy and it's just wonderful to have somebody to support you through. We definitely want more."

It's an enviable domestic set-up. Not only are brad pitt and angelina jolie probably one of the most beautiful couples in movie history, they're also one of the most successful.

Brad, 43, is currently winning rave reviews for his latest movie Babel, while brad pitt and angelina jolie has notched up box office hits such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Alexander. She's also bagged herself an Oscar for her 1999 movie Girl, Interrupted.

Yet despite her on-screen success, it's clear there's only one role the modest star really values - motherhood. The mere mention of her brood brings a sparkle to the famous feline eyes.

"Motherhood is everything and more I expected it to be," brad pitt and angelina jolie enthuses. "I love being a mum. We definitely want more kids. Brad pitt always wanted a big family too, and adopting more children is part of our plan, too."

The actress says being a mum not only dictates how much she works these days, but also her movie choices.

That's why angelina jolie agreed to take on her latest film role - a seemingly dramatic departure from the usual feisty, independent heroines we are used to seeing her play.

In The Good Shepherd, directed by Robert De Niro, angelina jolie plays Clover, the subservient wife of one of the first CIA agents (Matt Damon), who can only stand back and watch as his work destroys their family.

However, the star says it was Clover's love for her son that convinced her she'd be able to take on such a challenging role.

"It was her commitment to him and the fear that he would end up involved in CIA work, too - this dangerous world - which was the one thing that kept me grounded to her character. There was so much about her that I didn't identify with, but I could really identify with her protective feelings as a mum," explains the 31-year old star, who recently lost her own mother to cancer.

Angelina also says she relished the chance to play a rejected and unloved wife - something the stunning beauty has probably never experienced in reality.

"I like the fact there were many things about her that were broken. I don't normally get to play that part," she smiles. "She is very vulnerable and broken. She is affected by all the negative things about the world. She is married to it, and a victim of being around nothing honest; being shut down as a woman, limited as a woman."

You couldn't say the same for blissfully loved-up angelina jolie, but the star insists angelina jolie's in no hurry to walk down the aisle again.

"It's not something we feel the need to do and we've never really discussed it too much, because we don't think there's anything missing," says the actress, who has been married twice before, to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.

And despite having it all - fame, beauty, wealth and success - this is clearly one star who seems to be genuinely uncomfortable with celebrity status, making a concerted effort to avoid it at all costs.

"I make a point of not letting it change the way I live my life," she says of her fame. "I plan things so that I've got quality of life that's private and nice for the kids. We just don't let it affect us."

The star also puts her money where her mouth is. Angelina jolie's famed as much for her charitable work around the globe as for angelina jolie screen success, and says that's where her true motivation lies.

"I will continue to work with refugees and will never shift my focus from them because that's where my heart lies," angelina jolie says simply.

"We've just come back from Cambodia. We're supporting a huge area of protected forest for many, many villagers. It's a huge project but I'm learning so much.

"Brad pitt has also been working in New Orleans with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and we want to do something in Ethiopia, Zahara's birthplace - maybe support an orphanage there. We hear about something that's going on and we just want to get involved."

Not that the talented star is about to give up her acting career for good. Angelina jolie's currently working on a big screen adaptation of Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged and is rumoured to be lined up to star in Sin City 2.

But for now the contented star has plenty on her plate, what with saving the world, being a devoted mum of three and one half of Hollywood's most golden couple.

"I'm in a very peaceful place in my life right now," angelina jolie says with a euphoric smile. "I do wake up in the morning and realise I have a very fortunate life."