She sleeps with knives; kept husband Billy Bob Thornton’s blood in a
vial around her neck; has that “weird” relationship with her brother
James, etc.

Then there’s the ongoing feud with her Academy Award-winning father
Jon Voight, which Jolie detailed in her much-publicized interview
with Barbara Walters this month.

But one thing is often lost in this barrage of preconceptions: She’s
a terrific actress. Terrific enough to score an Oscar, which she did
playing a rebellious mental patient in 1999’s “Girl, Interrupted.”

As a performer she’s been described as a “loose cannon who has deadly
aim.” Her film roles have reflected her stong-willed persona and dark
beauty, in big-budget projects such as “Gone in 60 Seconds,” indie
flicks like “Playing by Heart” and Emmy-nominated TV work with “Gia”
and “George Wallace.”

Now in a summer filled with sequels, Jolie is back to reprise her
leading role in “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life.”
Although the original 2001 adventure based on the popular video game
was savaged by critics, it went on to earn nearly $300 million
worldwide. Astonishingly, it made more at the box office than any
other action film in history to star a female.

Interviewed at a July 13 press roundtable in New York, Jolie was
disarmingly forthcoming about her lifestyle and career.

“I want to live a normal life and be a normal person,” the
28-year-old says. “I don’t want to take myself seriously either way.
If people love me, hate me, think I’m great, think I suck – whatever
it is, I think it’s healthier to not pay attention to that stuff.”

Recently divorced from second husband Thornton, the actress is
enjoying the joys of single motherhood since adopting a Cambodian boy
she named Maddox. With child in tow, Jolie trekked around the world
to film the “Tomb Raider” sequel. This time she’s helped to hone the
role into more of a James Bond-type agent than a video game temptress.

Now Jolie is proud to echo Lara Croft’s catchphrase, “This is where I
start to have fun.”

(Does it take an Academy Award-winning talent to play an action hero?)

“I think it’s one of the harder things I’ve ever done. For most
people to sit in a corner and think about what makes you sad, and
what haunts you, and what makes you angry, we can all probably get to
that place. But to stand front and center in front of a thousand
people real proud and confident, and get them all to follow you out
of the room – do you know what I mean? (Lara) is so up for it all the
time, and so positive and confident, and that actually was very
difficult for me.”

(“Tomb Raider” was the highest grossing action film of all time to
feature a female lead. How does that raise expectations for a sequel?)

“There’s a lot of pressure on me (laughs). I plan to not answer the
phone for three weeks until it’s all over. When we did the film, and
when I saw it, I think it’s a lot better than the first one, so I’m
pretty confident that if people give it a shot it certainly holds up.
But you never know – and I don’t take it so seriously. It’s a summer
movie, and if it goes well, great. And if it doesn’t, it’s not the
end of the world.”

(Were you disappointed in the first one?)

“I wasn’t satisfied with it. Even through the making of it there was
a lot of things – we were all still trying to figure out how things
worked. We were still trying to make the video game into a real
person, but still it was THE VIDEO GAME. She was a video vixen and
wasn’t quite a solid woman with emotions and feelings. Even the way
she looked to me wasn’t sexy and real enough.”

(On my way to New York yesterday, I saw you on half a dozen magazine
covers and billboards everywhere. Do you ever get sick of seeing
yourself?)

“I tend to avoid it. I saw a glimpse of two different covers – that’s
the only thing I’ve seen so far – I haven’t read the articles, and I
don’t plan to. I glimpse through them quickly and send them to my
mom. Yeah, it’s strange. It’s nice when you look at some and they
look like YOU. Some don’t look like you at all. But it all comes with
perspective when Maddox will see something like that and he’ll say,
‘Momma.'”

(Does Lara Croft look like YOU in the movie?)

“Sometimes. But she’s definitely HER to me. I feel separate from her.”

(Does Maddox get what “mommy” does for a living?)

“Maddox thinks mommy dresses funny. (laughs)”

(How has motherhood changed you personally and also what you look for
in a script?)

“It changes in that I look now to see how much a script would demand
of my time away from him. Also, I’ll look at a part and see what the
film says and see if I’d rather spend that time instead with my son.
I used to just want to work and get out of the house all the time. I
never was happy in my life. Now with my traveling with the U.N. (as a
goodwill ambassador) and spending time with my son, it’s much harder
to come to work.”

(Could you ever see yourself dropping out?)

“I wouldn’t because I know that as much as I believe that I could be
useful in the field and just as a mother, I’m aware that I’m much
more useful if I can balance both. And I do love acting.”

(When you first started out you got a lot of rejections because of
your looks. Did that make you stronger or more bitter?)

“It made me confused. I was confused because I didn’t know where I
fit in. I went on over 100 auditions before I got a job – and I think
that’s good, because you pay your dues, and then you appreciate
working when you do. But I was always told that I couldn’t be the
girl next door; there was something odd about me. Then I started to
realize I was very fortunate that I happened to be of the time there
were films like ‘Gia’ or ‘Tomb Raider.’ There are certain types of
women that are a bit dark and weird that I fit. Probably if I was
born in the ’50s I wouldn’t have been an actress.”

(What did it mean to you to win the Oscar?)

“My mom (French actress Marcheline Bertrand) was home with me and my
brother in sweatpants taking care of us when my dad won an Oscar (in
1979). He was with another lady at the time. When I won that was a
moment for me and my mother and brother that was kind of for us and
our family. It meant a lot to me, because I loved the film, and I
worked very hard and I love being an actor. But this one was kind of
for my mom, because years ago she was sitting at home.”

(There’s obviously still resentment toward your father. Is there
anything that would make you want to resolve whatever issues you have
him?)

“No. I have an adopted son, so I don’t believe that if you’re
genetically connected you have a natural destiny together. We are not
similar people. We’ve tried to have a relationship. We didn’t become
friends in this life. It would be great to have a relationship with a
dad; I don’t have one. I have lot of other blessings, and I need to
focus on those.”