Angelina Jolie reveals sons protected her on set of film

Angelina Jolie has revealed her sons blocked off the set of her latest film to help her stay calm during a taxing scene.

The Oscar-winning actress, 49, plays historic opera singer Maria Callas in the new biographical psychological drama Maria - written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín.

Angelina was required to sing for the role and underwent seven months of training to prepare for her scenes, but admits she was "terribly nervous" about performing in front of others.

She told Deadline that when the time came for her to sing on camera for the first time, her sons, "blocked the door so that no one else could come in because I was so nervous."

She also thanked her director, who she said, "in his decency, started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala."

Discussing her own love for music, the Tomb Raider star said, "I loved all music, but I probably listened to The Clash more than most. As I've gotten older, classical music, opera - I still love the same music as when I was young... When you've felt a certain level of despair, of pain, of love... at a certain point there is only certain sounds that can match that feeling. To me, the immensity of feeling encapsulated in sounds of opera - there's nothing like it."

Angelina is the mother of six children with sons Maddox, 23, Pax, 20, and Knox, 16, and daughters Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and Vivienne, 16, who she shares with ex-husband Brad Pitt.