LOS ANGELES, California — “Isn’t that always the rumor?,” quips Angelina on reports that she’s pregnant. “I am not at the moment,” the actress declared. “But, I’m beginning to find it funny how often that’s written about in the press.”

Beautiful as usual in a black blouse and gray slacks, the much-admired humanitarian added, “You should have seen me at 6 o’clock this morning, with everybody in bed and me wondering how I was going to get up to get here!”

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In a recent press con, Angelina talked about a wide array of topics—including her desire to do fewer movies so she can have more time to be with her family that includes Brad Pitt; Maddox, 6; Pax Thien, 3; Zahara Marley, 2, and Shiloh Nouvel, 1.

Life has been so hectic for Angelina that for her, to have “better life experiences” means “being home a little more often.”

Jolie stars as a mother and monster in “Beowulf,” director Robert Zemeckis’ movie version of the oldest surviving poem in the English language. Using the groundbreaking performance-capture technology he introduced in “Polar Express,” Zemeckis has crafted a visually stunning film that also stars Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Crispin Glover, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson and Alison Lohman. Excerpts from our interview:

What is involved in performance-capture technology?
You spend a few days getting mapped so the computers will know your face. You do 60 different expressions. They also map your body. Then, when you shoot, you get to be in a jumpsuit. There are balls on your head. You look goofy and so does everybody so, it makes us feel very close. It’s not sexy at all (laughter)!
It was a lot of fun! I haven’t seen the full film, but when I saw my scenes, I was very surprised. I called home to say that I wasn’t sure my 6-year-old can see the movie, because it was more than I expected!

Realistic
It was quite realistic. I thought it might be fun for the eldest of my sons to see—but it’s not! It’s too mature—it’s for older audiences because it’s more violent and sexual.

You play a seductress. Have you been seduced in real life?
I’m sure I’ve been seduced in my life! Probably I shouldn’t start talking about it (laughter).

“Beowulf” was written centuries ago. Yet, it’s still valuable today. What do you make of the story?
The poem has a lot of layers. I always saw it as a tale about people who would sacrifice or sell their souls to the devil to get fame or power—and what a horrible trap that is!
I was raised to believe in hard work. At the end of the day, you sleep well because of what you’ve accomplished. So, the idea of getting something for nothing has never appealed to me.

How excited were you to work with Zemeckis and to play this role?
Bob Zemeckis has an amazing reputation as an innovative filmmaker. I knew this character was the mother and the monster and that’s always a great role (laughing)!

Activist

You’re a mother, a movie star, and a political activist. How do you manage to do these things so well?
It involves proper scheduling. Obviously, my priorities are my children. They are growing up. I’ll be doing even less work, because that’s what I prefer to do.
As for political activism, I’ve been educating myself on things that are happening around the world. It’s a privilege to be able to do it. I feel motivated to say or do something because I’m in a position to do so.

In what order of importance do you rank your roles as mom, humanitarian and actress?
I’m a mom first. I don’t know if I’m as much an ambassador as I’m a citizen of the world. I just want to learn about the world and its cultures. Lastly, I’m an actress.

Close calls

You’re also a brave woman who goes to some dangerous places. Have you had close calls?
Yes, I’ve had close calls. I’ve been in countries where people tried to take my passport—where I’ve had to hide in a room, because there were people outside who were dangerous.

Last time we talked, you said you were looking forward to aging.
Age is beautiful. My mother was beautiful. She was 58 when she passed away. I have a family that loves me as I am. I see little bits of me in my daughter—so that’s beauty to me. Honesty is also beauty.

Tell us about your other upcoming movie, “Wanted.” “Wanted” is a fun, action movie. When my mom passed away, I wanted to do something physical to get me out of my head. I wanted to do that because I was in a place where I wasn’t capable of getting up in the morning. So I needed something that would force me to be active!

Are you involved with Brad’s production company? We shouldn’t mix business and pleasure (laughing). We came together for “A Mighty Heart.” He produced it. We’re now working together on a project. We have our separate companies, but we run everything by each other.

In Toronto, Brad told us that you are his love, his partner and the mother of his children. How would you describe him? Can I steal his (laughing)? I’d say he’s my love, my dearest friend and—the father of my children.

Language

He told us that you spoke good French. What language is spoken in your house? We’re all trying to master French in the house. It has been quite funny. Our 6-year-old kid is doing his best. He goes to a French school, and he corrects me all the time! Somebody in the house speaks Vietnamese. Our 2-year-old is now starting to speak Vietnamese. We have language craziness in our house! I’d like our children to speak the language of their land.

Do you believe in the American school system? I don’t want to be misinterpreted as being against American schools. My kids come from different backgrounds, and I want to make sure that they’re getting a broad view of history and of the world.
This might be an unusual thing to say, but my son is going to learn about the Vietnam War at some point. He will learn about whether or not we were in Cambodia and what America’s involvement was.

Have you adjusted to the constant presence of the paparazzi in your life?
Certainly, with the children, it’s a difficult thing. It limits what we can do. We try to make their lives full whenever possible. We look for places with freedom.

Pictures
When it comes to the cameras, we make sure the children aren’t scared of them, so we say, “They’re just silly people who take pictures—aren’t they crazy?” How could you possibly explain something that there’s no good explanation for?

You’ve done a documentary about different places in the world. How difficult is it to observe people when everybody’s observing you?
When I was younger, my favorite thing was to be on the subway—to just be myself and watch people. I miss that. The documentary I did was for high school kids. We sent people with cameras to different parts of the world. I went to Niger where I was with the Tuaregs. They didn’t know who I was. They don’t believe in gossip! I enjoyed my privacy there.

If you were reborn, would you like to be Angelina Jolie with Brad Pitt again, or a powerful, sexy woman?
Can’t I be both (laughing)? Honestly, I’d like to be a pilot and a painter.