Angelina Jolie was ‘demanding’ of sons Pax, Maddox on ‘Without Blood’ set, Salma Hayek says

Angelina Jolie knows how to lay down the law.

The 49-year-old’s sons Maddox and Pax, whom she shares with ex Brad Pitt, worked hard on the set of their mom’s movie “Without Blood.”

While at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival to promote the drama about the aftermath of war, Salma Hayek Pinault shared insight into the behind-the-scenes of filming.

Maddox, 23, and Pax, 20, worked in the assistant director department, where they served as liaisons between the director and other departments on the film.

“They work hard,” Hayek Pinault, 58, shared at the People/ Entertainment Weekly TIFF suite on Sunday, per People. 

The “Fools Rush In” alum added that Jolie was “very professional with them” on set.

“She’s demanding,” Hayek Pinault continued. “They got the respect of the crew, and they were good with the crew, and they were very in their place. They were not treating me like they treat me outside of there. They were very, ‘You have to come,’ and I go, ‘Okay!’ It was kind of fun.”

She noted of Jolie’s sons, “They work hard. They are very serious about what they do.”

When the movie’s production first started, Hayek Pinault recalled being playful towards Maddox and Pax, which she quickly corrected.

“It is kind of funny. I was teasing them at the beginning, but then I had to say, ‘No. I have to separate and just treat them like professionals because it’s disrespectful,’” she said.

Along with Maddox and Pax, Hayek Pinault’s 16-year-old daughter, Valentina, was present on set. The actress said having the kids around made the process “feel just so comfortable and lovely” while working with a subject matter in which the characters “have to suffer so much.” 

The “Hotel” star also shared that the set curated by Jolie, who wrote and directed the new drama, based on the 2002 book by Alessandro Baricco, “just felt like home.”

“I was surprised, even though we are very close and stuff, but I was [surprised by] how warm and generous and kind she was as a director to the actors. It was really something,” Hayek Pinault marveled. 

She added, “I’ve worked with great directors that are really focused, but maybe because she’s also an actress… everything that maybe she wished somebody would’ve done for her, she did for us.”

Jolie previously directed “In the Land of Blood” and “Honey” (2011), “Unbroken” (2014), “By the Sea” (2015) and 2017’s “First They Killed My Father.”

In 2022, Hayek Pinault told People that her longtime friend is “probably the best director I’ve ever worked with — and I’ve worked with some pretty good ones.” 

At the time, she added of their latest project, “Without Blood”: “I’ve always loved her as a director, but I think this might be her best, or one of the best.”