The film not only pushed her artistic limits but also left her with an unconventional sentiment.
Angelina Jolie, an acclaimed actress and humanitarian, has added another layer of intrigue to her illustrious career by sharing intimate details about her involvement in the 1999 film “The Bone Collector.” Directed by Phillip Noyce, the cop thriller featured Jolie alongside Denzel Washington in a gripping story of pursuit and mystery.
However, Jolie was profoundly affected by the film’s production process and its captivating story, which had a greater lasting effect on her. She even claims that despite the gritty subject matter, making the film was an intensive and fulfilling experience.
Jolie played a dedicated police officer in “The Bone Collector,” who was relentlessly searching for a vicious serial killer. Her character’s dark and passionate nature created chances for the actress as well as obstacles.
The actress admitted that although not as severe as some of her past roles, the character’s internal conflict drove her to the verge of insanity. She had to be herself here, as opposed to prior roles, when she could fully inhabit the persona, letting her fragility show.
“This one was less extreme but nearly drove me insane because she was so insane inside,” she explained during an interview with Dark Horizons. “Sometimes, with the extreme ones, you’re a character, so you are free; this one was like: Be yourself, let those tears fall, be simple, and be still. You can’t hide. Sometimes it can be harder.”
In a separate interview, Jolie added, “It was really lonely, and I went a bit nuts. From the beginning, I felt as if I was not capable of doing this, of leading a film and being responsible for this, of physically handling this, of saving a life and going in there and being a cop.”
“It was just all those things by yourself: Am I good enough? Am I worth anything, really, on a spiritual deep level? You start to get into those things, and this is what she had to go through, and then get through it.”
Meanwhile, the relationship between Jolie and Washington, who played a paraplegic forensics specialist and her character’s love interest, helped the movie reach new heights. She found it thrilling that the romance between their characters was based more on intellectual seduction than physical.
“It was great seducing someone with your mind, a huge turn-on,” she confessed. The emotional bond forged between their characters held a profound significance for Jolie, who boldly declared, “The best sex I ever had was in this movie.”
For his part, working with Jolie was an eye-opening experience for Washington. Although he had been aware of her skill ever since her outstanding performance in “Gia,” it was their working together on “The Bone Collector” that gave him more confidence in her abilities.
In an interview with Tim Lammers, Washington said, “She has a shot and then some. I was saying earlier, when I first saw her in Gia, I was like, ‘Wow, this girl is really, really good.’”
“And I didn’t know; she probably didn’t like to talk about it too much, but I didn’t know who her father was. A great actor, Jon Voight [Jolie’s father.] So she’s got the genes.”