Shiloh Jolie-Pitt Wanted to Be a "Horned Creature"—Not Princess Aurora—in Maleficent

Angelina Jolie says her 7-year-old "laughed" at the idea of playing a young Sleeping Beauty

By Zach Johnson May 07, 2014 2:49 PMTags
Angelina Jolie, ElleHedi Slimane for ELLE

Vivienne Jolie-Pitt plays a young Princess Aurora in Maleficent—but only after her older sister passed on the role! The part was first offered to Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, who turned down the cameo appearance.

In the June issue of Elle, Angelina Jolie reveals how her 5-year-old daughter was cast after frightened child performers backed out. "My little Vivienne—we call her my shadow, because there's nothing I can do to shake her. I can be tired, I can be grumpy, I can be in a terrible mood, and she doesn't care. It's 'Mommy, Mommy,' and she'll cling to me," the actress explains. "We knew that she would still do that thing, she'd still smile at me and insist that I pick her up. So we couldn't really cast anybody else."

"I asked Shiloh about being Aurora, and she laughed in my face," Jolie says. "She said she'd be a horned creature." Pax Jolie-Pitt, 10, and Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 9, make cameos in the christening scene.

Hedi Slimane for ELLE

Shiloh, 7, briefly appeared in Brad Pitt's 2008 film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Maddox Jolie-Pitt appeared in his dad's 2013 zombie flick World War Z. Will the kids make more movies?

"Brad and I made the decision that we wouldn't keep them from sets and the fun of making movies, but we wouldn't [glorify it either]—we wouldn't make it a good thing or a bad thing. But I would really prefer they do something else," says Jolie, who made her screen debut alongside her father, Jon Voight, in 1982's Lookin' to Get Out. Plus, Maleficent made the Jolie-Pitts rethink their kids' cameos. "After two days of it," Jolie admits, "Brad and I were so stressed we never wanted to do it again."