Angelina JolieAngelina Jolie has said that remembering the experience of being pregnant with her own child helped inspire her for the role of Mariane Pearl in new film A Mighty Heart - and showed her how strong Mariane had to be to cope with everything happening at once.

Angelina gave birth to daughter Shiloh almost a year ago and a few months later, donned a fake six-month pregnancy belly to play friend Mariane in the story about murdered journalist Daniel Pearl.

Speaking at a press conference before the film’s premiere in Cannes yesterday, she said: “When we decided to do [the film], I was six months pregnant in Namibia, not wanting to do it at all. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”

“When I was six months pregnant, I couldn’t imagine not having the father with me. And being concerned about what had happened, remembering to eat and even physically moving around. I’m grateful for my pregnancy.”

Angelina and partner - and the film’s producer - Brad Pitt arrived in the French resort with their four children on Sunday and Angelina said they “had a beautiful day with our kids” before starting their promotional work on Monday: “We’re here as a family and have been playing with the children since the moment we landed. We want to enjoy this with our family and friends.”