With a career spanning over two decades, Angelina Jolie has consistently proven herself as an actress willing to go to any length for authenticity. Her dedication to her roles has made her one of the most respected figures in Hollywood, from the agile, fearless adventurer Lara Croft to the multi-layered, emotionally complex hero of Maleficent. But, even within this array of demanding roles, her performance in Oliver Stone’s Alexander truly defied expectations.
From her early roles, Jolie has always been one to push the envelope. She’s consistently chosen characters that don’t just resonate with audiences but also challenge the actress herself. This daring spirit was evident in Alexander, where she played Olympias, the mother to Colin Farrell’s Alexander the Great.
Jolie’s character spits at Farrell during a heated argument in one particularly intense scene. This visceral reaction wasn’t scripted. It was Jolie’s unfiltered response to the dynamic between their characters. Reflecting on the scene, Jolie remarked, “That was improvised. That just happened. And me spitting on him just happened. It was when they were fighting, and it actually came out of him disrespecting her. In fact, it was a crᴀss thing, and it angered me.”
That such a raw moment wasn’t a directive from Stone, but rather an actor’s genuine response showcases how deeply Jolie had immersed herself in the role. In the landscape of the actor’s parts, where she often portrays characters of immense strength and complexity, her embodiment of Olympias is one of the most genuinely committed – unfortunately, perhaps, for Farrell.
Another strange layer to the film was the perplexing decision to cast Jolie and Farrell as mother and son despite their alarmingly similar ages. It drew fairly significant controversy when it was announced, and Jolie herself found it to be initially “ridiculous” – until her director and co-star helped her see the light. “At first, I thought it was as ridiculous as everybody else did,” she said. “I think, [only after] meeting with Colin and Oliver, and really talking about it – I [then] identified with her.”
Addressing this, Farrell, who would ultimately regret the movie, commented on Jolie’s transformative performance, telling IGN in 2004: “Once you get over the initial hurdle of the irony of it all it’s fine. She’s such a ҒUCҜing brilliant actor; such a powerhouse. She created such a definitive character and put such an incredible and individual seal on it.”
He continued, “To look in her eyes and see the way she looked and the way she held herself, with such regality, it was easy. I didn’t find it a stretch.” Jolie, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for Farrell’s performance as the legendary military leader, saying, “Because he is the everyman, he supports other people, he loves the guys he worked with, he was their best buddy. He comes from a very good place.”