Angelina Jolie makes her own stunts for Maleficent

Angelina Jolie always revealed her passion for doing her own stunts when she starred as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.

It seems that Angelina Jolie certainly hasn’t lost her love of adrenaline-seeking, judging by pictures of the star on the set of new Disney movie Maleficent today.

Angelina Jolie, 37, was seen wired up to a crane as she took to the skies to shoot some high-octane scenes for the movie.

Wearing her horned headdress, complete with prosthetic cheekbones and a long brown dress and matching cape, Angelina Jolie looked calm and confident as she was lifted up into the air by the crane, which was attached to her around the waist.

Angelina Jolie, who is shooting the new movie in Buckinghamshire, stars as the title character – the evil Maleficent – in the film, a real-life version of the Disney cartoon Sleeping Beauty.

It seems Angelina Jolie has no qualms about shooting the stunts herself – even getting excited about the prospect.

Tomb Raider stunt coordinator Simon Crane said in a previous interview that Angelina Jolie was one of the most competent actresses he has ever worked with in terms of the stunts she performs.

Simon Crane said: “I would rate Angelina very highly against all of the action actors I have worked with. We’ve done a couple of sequences that involve stunts you won’t have seen a woman do before, and basically she is doing almost all of these stunts herself.

“We did a bungee-jumping sequence, and she went through three months’ training to be able to do it. She’s just done all these somersaults for another sequence. I was very impressed.”

The focus of the film centres on the events that hardened Maleficent’s heart, leading her to curse the baby Aurora who will be played by Elle Fanning.

Speaking about her new film Angelina Jolie told EW: “It’s not anti-princess, but it’s the first time they’re looking at this epic woman.

“I hope in the end you see a woman who is capable of being many things, and just because she protects herself and is aggressive, it doesn’t mean she can’t have other [warmer] qualities.

“It sounds really crazy to say that there will be something that’s good for young girls in this, because it sounds like you’re saying they should be a villain. [Maleficent] is actually a great person. But she’s not perfect. She’s far from perfect.

“In general, it’s a very good message to say, <<Let’s look at something from the other side>>. But then also, what our challenge will be – and the script writer [The Lion King and Alice in Wonderland’s Linda Woolverton] has already cracked it – is not to simplify it, not to just reverse the story but tell a bigger story that doesn’t point the finger [at Princess Aurora] either.”

Maleficent is directed by Robert Stromberg and is set for release on March 14, 2014.