June 2, 2008

"If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I've no problem shooting them." That's Angelina Jolie, revealing her up-with-the-Second-Amendment maternal instincts to Britain's Mail on Sunday.

And, as an added warning, the protective mom of Maddox, 6, Pax, 4, Zahara, 3, Shiloh, 2, and the still-baking, Brad Pitt-spawned double buns in her oven, points out that she "bought original, real guns of the type we used in 'Tomb Raider' for security."

"Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one," acknowledges Jolie, who is out stumping for the soon-to-be-released thriller, "Wanted," in which she plays a weapons-wielding assassin. "And yes, I'd be able to use it if I had to. I could handle myself. I think there are certain combat skills that would come out. I tend to want to throw an elbow."

Says the goodwill-promoting earth mother, "There's a side to me that people know is humanitarian, and there's a side to me that's a mommy. But there's also the side that likes to get down and dirty and run and jump around and fire guns."

And while it'll probably be several years before any of her tots see her popping a cap or 50 in "Wanted," she's not going to shield them from violence on the big screen.

"It's just not a reality in this day and age to say, 'I'm never going to let my kids watch a movie that has a gun in it,'" explains Angelina. "It's important to know that this exists. But I'm very clear with my children about who's a good guy and who's bad."

Angelina graces the cover of the July issue of Vanity Fair.

Meanwhile, the actress and her heaving, ah-ooga!-triggering cleavage strike a scarlet-lipped, come-hither "Barbarella"-meets-Brigitte Bardot pose for the July issue of Vanity Fair.

In the interview, which was conducted before she confirmed she was carrying twins (by the by, their arrival is so eagerly anticipated that bidding on the first pics has reached an unprecedented $15 million, reports TMZ.com), she admits she didn't intend to fall for Pitt -- or any other actor.

"After my last divorce [from Billy Bob Thornton], I said I was absolutely going to marry somebody in another field, an aid worker or something," maintains Angelina. "Then I met Brad, everything I wasn't looking for, but the best man, the best father I could possibly wish for, you know?"

Besides, she adds, "I don't see him as an actor. I see him very much as a dad, as somebody who loves travel and architecture more than being in movies."

During the extensive sit-down, Jolie talks more about Pitt and life in their poopie-pants-filled household. Here are some highlights:

On bonding with Pitt over philanthropy: "This was actually one of the things that brought us together. Though he wasn't as publicly active, I found him to be very aware of the world, very curious, very compassionate. In his private way, he had been doing a lot. When we met, we realized our common goals were that we both wanted to be involved in the world and see what we could do. We have similar interests but different approaches. He's more involved in rebuilding New Orleans, environmental issues, green sustainability. I am more refugees. But when it comes to common goals -- orphans, orphans' rights, children -- we support each other. It brings us together and makes our relationship work."

On being knocked up: "I love it. It makes me feel like a woman. It makes me feel that all the things about my body are suddenly there for a reason. It makes you feel round and supple, and to have a little life inside you is amazing. Also, I'm fortunate. I think some women have a different experience depending on their partner. I think that affects it. I happen to be with somebody who finds pregnancy very sexy. So that makes me feel very sexy."

On their unwedded bliss: "People have made a lot out of it that we're not but we both have been married before, and it's very easy to get married, but it's not easy to build a family and be parents together. And maybe we've done it backwards, but we certainly feel married."

On the tabloids: "People always slow down for a train wreck. It's like junk food. If you don't feel good about yourself, you want to read crap about other people, like gossip in high school. You don't understand why it's there, but somehow it makes a lot of people feel better."

On their diverse nannies: "We don't ever have anybody spend the night. We may have to adjust that when the next one comes. But we do have ladies that work with us, and they're also from different cultures and backgrounds. One lady's a Vietnamese teacher -- wonderful. One is of Congolese descent from Belgium. Another is from the States and is really creative and does art programs."

On her blended family: "When I was growing up I wanted to adopt, because I was aware there were kids that didn't have parents. It's not a humanitarian thing, because I don't see it as a sacrifice. It's a gift. We're all lucky to have each other. I look at Shiloh -- because, obviously, physically, she is the one that looks like Brad and I when we were little -- and say, 'If these were our brothers and sisters, how much would we have known by the time we were 6 that it took into our 30s and 40s to figure out?' I suppose I'm giving them the childhood I always wished I had."

On how they chose the name Shiloh: "It's a biblical name but we didn't name her for that. It was a name my parents almost named their first child -- there was a miscarriage: Shiloh Baptist. Because my father had been shooting in Georgia and that was the most Southern name [my parents] could come up with. It's a name I always liked. I used to go under it in hotels: Shiloh Baptist. I'd gone under it when [Brad] called hotel rooms where I was staying."

On spirituality in the household: "Brad got me this great thing for Christmas. It's a bookshelf that has a book on every religion. That's how we plan to raise our kids. Teach them about all religions. They can pick one or be a student of all of them. We'll celebrate Kwanzaa for our girl. We'll celebrate moon and water festivals for our boys. We'll take them to temples in certain countries. Also to church."

On trying to maintain order: "You end up hearing yourself saying all those clichéd parent things: 'I don't care who started it, but I'm here to finish it.'" She also says she takes cues from "how my mom raised me, which is to figure out who I was and try to enhance my individual personality and not get in the way of it. But I can really discipline the kids when I need to."

On their child-rearing philosophy: "Artists raise their kids differently. We communicate to the point where we probably annoy our children. We have art around the house, we have books, we go to plays, we talk. Our focus is art and painting and dress-up and singing. It's what we love. So I think you can see how artists in some way raise other artists."

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