Angelina Jolie 'ate like a Prisoner of War' on film set in sympathy with actors

Angelina Jolie barely ate while directing her new film about starving prisoners of war – to show solidarity with its famished actors, one of its stars has revealed.

Leading man Jack O’Connell – who plays ex-Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, held for two horrific years at a Japanese camp in the true story Unbroken – told how Jolie “was so thin”.

He added: “She came on set every day giving the actors advice and actually didn’t eat much.

“She was so thin because most of the actors were not able to eat as they play inmates in the prison camp.
"So she was so close to us. I really respect her professionalism, her attitude to the creation. She’s so determined and passionate.

“It was intense on set but with her motivation and attitude we were on the same page.”

The English star also revealed that Jolie tried out all of his stunts before he had to do them.

These included long periods supporting a heavy wooden plank above his head – a real-life ordeal forced on Zamperini by guards.

The US Air Force second lieutenant died in July, aged 97.

“I’m not sure whether the plank can be regarded as a stunt – but in any case she was under it before I turned up on set,” O’Connell told radiotimes.com.

The actor, 24, passed out after spending “a large portion of the day” filming the tough scenes.

“I fainted twice,” he said. “It’s quite a pinnacle moment. I didn’t actually hit the deck. It was one of those faints where my head had gone but my hands were still in front of me.

"But I had no vision, couldn’t really hear anything, then just gradually regained both those senses and went back under the plank.
"No surprise, the same problem happened. They perhaps thought it best to call it a day then.”

Angelina has been widely promoting her film, including photo-shoots in Sydney, Australia.

The Mirror revealed yesterday how the mum to six children recently gave an insight into domestic life with film star husband Brad Pitt, 51.

“Marriage and raising kids can be hard,” she said. “Brad and I work really hard nurturing our family.”

The actress and director, 39, also shared details from her rushed wedding in August at the couple’s French estate – organised in just “two or three weeks”.

She said: “We have been through so many things in 10 years together. It was lovely. It’s nice. I’m very happy to be married.”