Angelina Jolie wanted to be a funeral director before she turned to acting

CNN
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While Angelina Jolie has done pretty well in the movies and on the stage, acting wasn’t actually her first choice when it came to careers.

The Golden Globe, Oscar and Tony Award winner revealed on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Thursday that she trained as a funeral director before pursuing her acting career.

When asked: “Why?” How?” from Fallon, Jolie joked, “Doesn’t that make sense?” before diving into the question more seriously.

“My grandfather died and I remember thinking: They shouldn’t be like that. This was supposed to be a celebration of life – and since I’m not afraid of death and am comfortable with it, I thought this would be a great career path for me,” she said.

“I could probably do better. “I could make a difference here,” she added, before joking: “This is my backup career.”

The 49-year-old then addressed further rumors about her alternative careers.

When asked if it was true that she had thought about becoming a pilot, Jolie replied, “Yes, I am a pilot.” According to reports, Jolie received her pilot’s license in 2004.

She added that her son Maddox is now also a pilot.

However, Jolie vehemently denied rumors that she had considered doing stand-up comedy, saying: “That’s definitely a no.”

“I could take care of a funeral. I can handle being 10,000 feet in the air, but no,” she added, before pointing at Fallon and saying, “What you’re doing is terrifying.”

Jolie took months of singing lessons to portray legendary opera singer “Maria Callas” in her latest project, the biopic “Maria.”

“I had never sung before,” Jolie said on the “Tonight” show, adding that she was “pretty sure” it was one of the things she couldn’t do. “I can’t sing.”

She said she had to learn to sing and to calm her nerves, she had a “great plan” when filming began.

“I thought I knew what I was going to do. I’ll – it’ll be a fun gift at the start of the movie. “I just buy everyone earplugs,” she said, before admitting: “But I didn’t do that, I had to sing.”