With Angelina Jolie taking roles from Marianne Pearl, the wife of kidnapped reporter Daniel Pearl, to the epic villain Grendel's Mother in a film version of Beowulf to an animated kung fu master Tigress in Kung Fu Panda, it's easy to forget that what brought her to attention of many was her turn as Tombraider Laura Croft. In Wanted, she returns to those action-movie roots. She recently chatted with reporters about doing her own stunts, Wanted's ground-breaking director Timur Bekmambetov and her co-stars, including "the voice of god."

On why she enjoyed filming on Wanted:
I get to be foxy finally, I’ve been doing some serious films and I love them and I will continue to do them, but every once in a while I miss the action movie, I miss playing and shooting things up.

On co-star James McAvoy and his character, office-dweller Wesley Gibson:
James is so lovely and he’s such a good sport, but his character? I think so many people are going to identify with his character because he’s kind of the everyman that doesn’t know what he’s doing in this place, and he’s got these very tough people kind of forcing him to do something and being very, very hard on him.

On the films of director Timur Bekmambetov:
They are very, very original and they have good stories. Some action movies don’t have good stories; this does have a good story and good characters. And a lot of, I think, action movies today, they spend a lot of money to do a big stunt and he doesn’t rely on that. He’s very creative, so what he’s going try is not just an explosion. It’s going to be something more original, more unique, and I think that’s what makes him very good for this.

On doing some of her own stunts in the film:
Well the stunt lady had to make sure the rig was working. You know, the stunt person goes on first to say, 'cause they strap a belt around you and then just take you through the streets of Chicago and [say] do this and this. And you just try to hold on and shoot, and but no, I did it. I mean, once the rig was set, then I did it, but it was fine.  But it was fun.

On the hardest scene to shoot:
There is this part when I flip to the side and this bus comes in front of me, and my hand kept going on the wheel. That was the only thing we kept worrying about...It’s hard to explain, but touch one of the cars moving really fast and your hand goes on the wheel — it’s just not a good.  But no, it was a lot of fun. I miss that stuff, you know? I love being a mom and I love being home, but every once in a while...

On why you should go see Wanted:
I think it has a great story...You’ll be really rooting for James in it, and I think the action scenes, having been somebody that’s done action movies, the action sequences are new. They have not been seen before. The story is new, the scenes are new, so it’s not just an action movie where we’ll say, "Oh that was cool, but I’ve seen that." It’s totally original and it’s also wicked funny. You know, it’s got a really good sense of humor to it.

On co-star and "the voice of god," Morgan Freeman:
Morgan is just amazing. Morgan, he flies planes, he speaks different languages, he cooks, he sings. He’s like, he’s Morgan Freeman. He’s everything and he has the most extraordinary [voice]. He’s the voice of god, you know? He has the most extraordinary voice, so he could just say anything and you’ll believe it.

So it was just, it was lovely just to work with him and to watch him do his thing. And he’s tough in this one, I think. He will surprise people in this movie. It’s a different side of Morgan Freeman.