She has been called many things – a wild child, marriage breaker and strange obsessive. But, at the age of 32, Angelina Jolie appears to be mellowing. She has her rainbow family of children – adopted kids Maddox, six, Pax Thien, four, Zahara, two, and her biological daughter, Shiloh, 16 months – and, despite rumours to the contrary, a seemingly stable relationship with Shiloh’s dad Brad Pitt.

Angelina and Brad have also teamed up to produce Jolie’s new movie, A Mighty Heart, which tells the real-life tale of Mariane Pearl, the wife of journalist Daniel, who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.

Here, Angelina tells The Ticket how she juggles family life with her work.

You and Brad famously met on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith. How was it working together again on A Mighty Heart?
It went very smoothly. Brad was amazing on this movie. He’s a great producer and would handle things if there were certain problems, but he was also often at home being a great dad. He was with the kids every single day while I was shooting.

Are you and Brad planning to act in any more projects together?
We’re not against that idea, but as yet nothing is planned.

With your humanitarian work, have you always had a sense of injustice in the world, or is that something that has come as you’ve grown older?
I think, as with most teenagers, I was very focused on myself – where we just think that our own pain is extraordinary. But I was fortunate that in my early twenties, I got to travel and meet people from around the world. I realised then that I should never, ever complain about anything again. There are real horrors in the world as well as real tragedy and loss that I will never know. So it sobered me up.

Do you never complain about anything in your own life?
I complain very little these days. As long as my kids are healthy I have everything. Nothing else can shake me.

How is your newest little boy, Pax, adjusting to life in America?
He’s amazing. He’s taught us all a great deal. He’s learning English and every day he seems to know more and more, which is amusing. But he also often just goes into Vietnamese which is also funny.

It was a huge change for him wasn’t it?
It was, but we were prepared for that. We talked to a lot of people. We had a translator for a long time to help explain things to him. We didn’t push ourselves onto him, we let him slowly come to us and be as close as he wanted to be. Now he’s so loving, affectionate and fun. The only thing now is keeping him calm because he gets so excited.

What’s an ordinary day like for you?
Well, we move about a lot. Brad’s been shooting in New Orleans, so we’ve been at our home there. I had to go to LA to finish this film, then Brad was doing The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Then we’re off to Prague. But usually it’s a lot of getting the kids ready for school in the morning which is a little crazy with so many of them.

Do you have any help?
Yes, during the day we do have somebody if all four kids are with us. It’s mainly for their safety.

Where do you find your energy for both Brad and the children?
I just love it, you know? I mean, we woke up so tired this morning and the kids were making so much noise in our room – but to me that’s all just part of the joy of life.

What do you consider to be your flaws?
Oh God! Why don’t you ask Brad? [laughs]

What would he say?
I don’t know. I don’t cook, so that might be one. I don’t like cooking. I can make a sandwich, although Brad would probably even dispute that. I’d really like to try cooking one day — I’d like to be able to make a proper meal. Actually, I have tried but nobody was very enthusiastic.

How has Mariane Pearl reacted to your portrayal of her?
I was so, so nervous. the day before we started shooting the movie, that I couldn’t sleep, so I was relieved when I got a phone call from Mariane saying she’d seen it and liked it. Then at Cannes when the people were applauding the film, it seemed as if they were applauding her. That made us all very emotional because we’ve come to know Mariane and very much love her.

Would you say Mariane, as a mother, is someone you could easily relate to?
Yes it was so strange. I think we’re very similar as mothers. We both see the importance of travelling a lot with our kids. We have similar ideas on how to raise our children and both take our kids to work with us all around the world. We both enjoy our children and laugh with them.

Mariane and I had our first play date together with the kids and it went so well because we’re so alike. I expected her to be this perfect French woman and I thought, “She’s going to embarrass me and make the perfect lunch, and she’s going to have toys that are going to be educational.”

But we met and we both couldn’t figure out how to make pasta! We’re so not perfect, which is really nice.