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RollingStone interview

[December 2001]

What was the high point of your year?

Just time with Billy and the kids [Thornton's two visiting sons from a previous marriage]. We just had Halloween yesterday. Being a family in a house, doing regular things. I used to look at houses, drive by them when I lived in apartments, and I always wanted to be in a house with a dog, having dinner, talking about your life.

How did you celebrate Halloween?

We all dressed up as rabbits and went through these tunnels made out of boxes, and ate carrots. Billy and I had full rabbit suits, like big pink pajamas. Then we watched Charlie Brown and Scooby-Doo, and carved pumpkins. You had to be here. It was just a bunch of chaos.

What were your favorite book, movie and song this year?

My favorite book was Loung Ung's First They Killed My Father, about her childhood in Cambodia. I spent some time with her in Cambodia when I was there with UNHCR, and she's wonderful. I don't see many movies but I loved the movie Billy did, The Man Who Wasn't There. We have very few films that find their own pace. Mostly what they're about is so clear and thrown at us. I think it just made everybody slow down. I don't know about a favorite song. I love all of Billy's music but it'd sound terrible if I said that. I've started to listen to music from other countries - traditional music from Africa, and from Cambodia. I'm fascinated by the sounds from other countries. [Laughs] Though Billy's another country in himself.

What are your thoughts on "Tomb Raider," in retrospect?

You know, we're thinking about making another one, and we've discovered all the things we hated about the first one [laughs] and where we want to make it much better. I think we had to play a lot of things safe. But we all worked very hard. I just wanted it to be a great adventure and have a character that was strong and athletic and traveled.

What are your thoughts about the events of September 11th?

That's a really complicated one. I'm an American, but at the same time I've also, early on this year, started to learn about recent things that happened in other countries. And I was shocked by how much war there was in the world. When it hit home, not because it was America but because there were 5,000 people dead, I was . . . It was just absolutely horrible and wrong, and I was in shock, and angry, and not knowing exactly how these things get to this point.

Why did you decide this summer to become a U.N. goodwill ambassador?

We all know about UNICEF, but I read about UNHCR and I realized I knew nothing about what a refugee is. I was calling and asking if I could learn with them. I realized UNHCR was actually looking at a total of 20 million refugees, and I couldn't understand how in 2001 that was possible. I felt so helpless, and I couldn't believe how many different parts of the world were affected. I've been with them to Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Cambodia, and I went to Pakistan in August and met refugees from Afghanistan. Some of them have been there since the Cold War, when we were actually helping [those who are now the Taliban], I believe.

Right now, many humanitarian organizations are suggesting the bombing should be halted in the name of humanity.

I work with the United Nations, but I'm an individual and I don't want what I say . . . for them to be held responsible for it. There are so many people who don't want to stop the bombing, but I don't think there's any American who wants those 5 or 6 million refugees hurt. I'm not sure, I don't know what the answer is. When I gave money to refugees [on September 27th, Jolie gave $1 million to a UNHCR appeal for Afghanistan refugees] I got a few threats. I don't want to seem unpatriotic because I'm not. I hate the people that are responsible for the bombings. I want them removed. I want them dead. I want that to be very clear. I'm not saying we should be openhearted to all people because I do think there's a time in the world where things need to be dealt with. But then there are the people who hopefully one day will get their country back.

What did you experience on the border?

Every single person, when I asked where they wanted to go, everybody said Afghanistan. I asked a little girl. She looked at me and said, "I live in plastic, and I have these things," and she showed me her rashes and boils. It was really, really hard. There are lots of them that are garbage-pickers and they've got cut fingers and . . . and they're so full of hope, it absolutely breaks your heart.

There's often cynicism when celebrities get involved in causes. Did that worry you?

It worried me not for me - because I really don't care what people say about me - but I wanted to make sure for the United Nations, even in a silly way, that they understood that there was a perception, maybe a negative one, about me. And instead of worrying about it, they were sorry that I had to go through that. It was so outside all the bullshit of press, they just knew me as a regular person. They were very kind to me. I really went out there looking to do some good for them, and it changed me. It made me a better person.

Better how?

Better because I spend my days thinking about things that matter now. And I appreciate things: the ability to be educated and how much I have. You can have a load of money and buy a bunch of shit, but at the end of the day what kind of life is that?

What was the most memorable personal encounter you had this year?

This woman in Sierra Leone. She was one of the refugees. We talked about her life and my life. It was the first real awakening. She talked about all she'd been through but she didn't talk about how hard she'd had it. She talked about how fortunate she was. She's my hero. I'm forever grateful. [Quietly] I doubt very much that she's still alive. . . .

Have you been comfortable about the way your life, and your married life, have been presented in public this year?

I made a point to myself a year ago not to read or watch those programs or magazines. So I have no idea. But when we go to the grocery store, people seem comfortable with us. I'd like to think we're a decent couple really - we do love each other and are both very free thinkers and are bold in things we do. Silly and decent. We're very normal.

I guess the stuff people think is less normal is pretty much anything that involves blood.

Right, but you know what's really interesting about that whole blood thing? We've gone to other countries and they think you're all strange for thinking it's weird. I find it stranger that anyone might need a $2 million ring. That that would represent their marriage.

What changes in pop culture would you like to see next year?

Pop culture? What does that mean? I think it's wonderful there's passion for being American, and with that there should be an awareness globally. That is what America is - a melting pot. We need to remember that, and with that strength we should reach out globally. It's a human thing to do, and it's an American thing to do