Angelina Jolie wants her eldest son Maddox to run the charity she named after him in Cambodia and has hired him as a researcher on her new film.
The Oscar-winning actress, who adopted Maddox, 13, from an orphanage in Cambodia in 2002, says he will take over the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation, which she set up there 12 years ago.
The foundation seeks to help families overcome problems associated with poverty and to help preserve the “remarkable habitat and wildlife for future generations”.
Asked if he would be involved in her upcoming Netflix film First they Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, about the country’s Khmer Rouge regime, during which 1.7 million civilians died, the director said: “Maddox will be on set every day after school and involved behind the scenes. And yes, Maddox is already involved in the Foundation and will take over my role when he is older.
“As Maddox and I prepare the film we will be side by side learning about his country. He is turning 14 next week, and this is a very important time for him to understand who he is.
“He is my son but he is also a son of Cambodia.
“This is the time for our family to understand all that that means to him and to us.”
The 40-year-old star, who has five other children with husband Brad Pitt, still feels a “deep connection” to Cambodia.
“I want to respect its history and bring a film to the world that will not only show the hardships of war but the dignity and resilience of a people I deeply respect,” she added.
