Angelina Jolie reveals morbid career path she had considered before Hollywood breakthrough

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Angelina Jolie revealed a little-known fact about her past during her first late-night talk show appearance in a decade.

On the Thursday, December 5, episode of 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', the 49-year-old actress shared that she once considered a career as a funeral director.

How Angelina Jolie's personal loss inspired funeral director career dream

In a preview clip shared with People, Jimmy Fallon, 50, asked Angelina Jolie about rumors of alternative career paths she had considered before her acting breakthrough.

"First of all, is it true that prior to acting you were studying to become a funeral director?" Fallon asked.

"Yes," Jolie replied with a smile, surprising the host who asked, "Doesn't it make sense though?"

The 'Maria' star explained that her unusual interest stemmed from her grandfather's death.

"My grandfather died, and I remember thinking, ‘This is not how they should be. This should be a celebration of life,’” she said.

“And since I'm not afraid of death and I was comfortable with it, I thought, ‘This would be a great career path for me. ... I could, like, make this better,’" she continued.

Fallon responded enthusiastically, "We need more people like that," and Jolie jokingly added, "It’s my fallback career now."

Angelina Jolie on being 'upset' with her grandfather's funeral

This is not the first time Angelina Jolie has spoken about her interest in becoming a funeral director.

In a 2011 '60 Minutes' interview, the actress described how her grandfather’s funeral left her feeling there was room for improvement in how families experience the death of a loved one.

“It sounds like this very strange, eccentric, dark thing to do. But, in fact, I lost my grandfather, and I was very upset with his funeral,” she said.

“So we discussed that maybe there are ways where this whole idea of how somebody passes and how a family deals with this passing ... should be addressed in a different way,” she said.

Angelina Jolie promotes latest film 'Maria'

Angelina Jolie’s appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon', coincides with the release of her latest film, 'Maria', in which she portrays the legendary opera singer Maria Callas.

The drama, now in select theaters, will debut on Netflix on December 11.

After accepting the Gotham Awards on Monday, December 2, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City for her portrayal of Callas, Jolie said, "As Maria knew, art isn’t easy."

"It requires skill and training and discipline and preparation, and it can be lonely at times," she continued.

Expressing admiration for Callas’ commitment to her craft, Jolie described how the opera legend would “straitjacket” herself to master her art, according to People.

The Oscar-winning actress quoted Callas and reminded the audience, "Keep going, not with fireworks, not with an easy applause, but with the expression of words and your true feeling, whatever it is."