Angelina Jolie reveals she nearly became a funeral director

Angelina Jolie recently shared a surprising revelation about the path she might have taken if acting hadn’t worked out.

In her first late-night talk show appearance in a decade on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Oscar winner confirmed that she had a backup plan in mind if acting didn’t work out. In the preview clip, host Jimmy Fallon inquired, “Is it true that prior to acting you were studying to become a funeral director?”

“Yes,” she confirmed with a laugh: “Doesn’t it make sense though?”

She explained that her interest in funeral directing was inspired by her grandfather’s passing.

“My grandfather died, and I remember thinking this is not how they should be,” she explained. “This should be a celebration of life. And since I’m not afraid of death and I was comfortable with it, I thought, ‘This would be a great career path for me. ... I could, like, make this better. I could do a thing here.’ “

“Yes,” the talk show host, 50, replied. “We need more people like that.” Jolie then joked: “It’s my fall-back career now.”

This isn’t the first time the actor, who stars in Maria, the new musical about Maria Callas, on Netflix, has mentioned her fascination with funeral directing. In 2011, she told 60 Minutes that in the past, she had seriously considered the profession.

“It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do,” Jolie elaborated, noting that she enjoyed the idea of addressing death in a “different way” and wanted to guide families through the process after her own experience with her grandfather’s death. It was a path that she had been intent on pursuing, having taken a home course in embalming when she was 14 years old. She noted, “If this acting thing didn’t work out, that was gonna be my backup.”

Over the years, the Unbroken director has openly discussed her interest in death and the afterlife.

In a 2014 interview with French Marie Claire, she admitted she often feels the presence of her late mother, Marcheline Bertrand, in her life. “I feel in contact with my mother when I look at my children. I can feel her influence over me then,” she told the outlet.

Her early years were also marked by a deep-seated interest in mortality.

As a teenager, Jolie collected knives and engaged in self-harm, once explaining, “Whenever I felt trapped, I’d cut myself. I have a lot of scars.”

Drawing from her interest in the darker side of the human experience, Angelina Jolie has built a career that includes both impactful acting roles and extensive humanitarian work. Her performances have often explored emotionally intense narratives, including her Oscar-winning portrayal of a troubled patient in Girl, Interrupted, and her directorial efforts in First They Killed My Father, which focus on stories of fragility and resilience.

Off-screen, Jolie’s work as a UNHCR Special Envoy includes decades of advocacy for refugees and displaced persons. She has traveled to conflict zones worldwide, oftentimes using her platform to amplify the voices of those in need and bring attention to global issues. Her commitment to these causes highlights her focus on addressing human suffering and elevating overlooked stories.