Oscar rumors are growing about Angelina Jolie’s role as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s new film. Mary film – and the excitement may be reaching its peak now that the actress has revealed how intensively she is training for the highly anticipated project.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival in front of MaryAt the world premiere of “The Last Chance,” the 49-year-old Oscar winner revealed that she had trained for several months to be a live opera singer during production.

“Everyone here knows I was terribly nervous,” Jolie said at the event. diversitywhich also suggests that Jolie said she had “never sung in public before coming into the film.” “I trained for almost seven months because when you work with Pablo you can’t do anything half-heartedly. He demands in the most wonderful way that you really work and really learn and train.”

Jolie said her “sons were there” and “helped lock the door so no one else could come in” to watch her workout, which she admitted left her feeling “shaky,” the outlet reported.

The actress ended up having to sing in front of a full theater to recreate scenes from Callas’ performances at Paris’s Teatro La Scala, and was fortunate enough to have “time to grow” during that time.

“I would be afraid of disappointing her,” she said of Callas’ fans, who have carried on the singer’s legacy since she died in 1977 at age 53. “I really grew fond of her, so I didn’t want to do this woman a disservice.”

Before MaryAfter its debut in Venice, Netflix acquired the film for distribution in the United States, leading many to speculate that the streaming giant would host an awards season this year, as the Academy mainly recognizes big stars who transform into real-life entertainment figures (see: Joaquin Phoenix in Walk the lineRami Malek in Bohemian RhapsodyRenée Zellweger in Judyetc.)

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Larraín also has an excellent award-winning track record, including directing the Best Actress-nominated films Natalie Portman (Jackie) and Kristen Stewart (Spencer) to nominations for the portrayal of the real-life figures Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for Mary, whose world premiere will take place on Thursday in Venice.