Angelina Jolie Apologized to Extras on Maria Set Before Singing ‘Loudly’ in Opera Scenes: ‘Trying My Best’

Angelina Jolie was grateful for an audience full of understanding extras when it came time for her to sing onstage for Maria.

The Oscar winner, 49, portrays famed opera singer Maria Callas in the new movie, blending the real-life vocals with some of the actress’ own. Even in performance sequences that were mostly Callas recordings, though, Jolie had to belt “loudly” to sell the scenes.

“The funny thing is, for it to be convincing, you have to be very loud when you sing opera, as loud as you can be. Whether you feel confident or not, you still have to be very loud,” Jolie said in an interview with Netflix’s Queue.

Director Pablo Larraín, she explained, “did a wonderful thing in that he cast a group [of extras] that stayed in the audience [throughout filming].”

“They were with me through a few performances, and these wonderful people would become so essential to the piece,” said Jolie, adding, “I think the first day I met them I said, ‘I apologize for what’s about to happen in case I hit the wrong notes loudly.’ ”

Jolie said, “It helped me [that] I was performing to a real audience. They were really kind people who knew that I was trying my best, and I wasn’t an opera singer but I was learning. We were connected in the attempt and in the storytelling. Their understanding and support were everything.”

The actress previously said she spent seven months in vocal training to prepare for her role.

Jolie told Variety in October that the singing lessons turned out to be the “best therapy I’ve ever had.” She added, “Honestly, I think I would tell a lot of people before you try therapy and spend too much time there, go to singing class.”

“It helped me a lot,” she said. “There’s something primal about finding your own voice within your own body. It brings up certain emotions that you may have not wanted to confront, and there’s no way to sing at your full voice and your full emotion without confronting your feelings and your limitations.”

Maria is now on Netflix.