In a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Oscar-winner had a surprising take on how time has impacted her acting career.

Netflix film Maria, directed by Pablo Larraín from a Steven Knight screenplay, sees Jolie playing the American-Greek soprano in her final days in Paris, as the diva reckons with her identity and life after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. In real life, Callas died of a heart attack at her Paris home in 1977 at age 53.

“I’m a hard worker,” Jolie stated. “And a deeply feeling person. Maria is vulnerable because she feels and isn’t sometimes able to protect herself from the loneliness or emotional pain. Because it’s part of her life and work to be extremely human and live that way.”

The Metropolitan Opera House was awash in pearls and tuxedos on a recent gala evening. Socialites traded political gossip by the bar, and bankers discussed coming vacations in the Maldives. Then a golden elevator door slid open and a glamorous figure slipped out.