Angelina Jolie: 'Insomnia is a bonus'

Angelina Jolie has joked that having insomnia fits in with her lifestyle.

The actress, who has six children with partner Brad Pitt, explained that her hectic schedule doesn't allow for much sleep.

She told The Independent: "I really don't get much sleep, but I fortunately don't need much. Insomnia has become a bonus."

Jolie revealed that she spends as much time with her family as possible and invited them to join her in Venice when she filmed The Tourist with Johnny Depp.

She recalled: "We'd sneak out and go through the cobblestone streets, get in the boat and go to the park and play soccer or go to museums. And then to great restaurants in the middle of the night.

"As a family, we always stay together, so Brad was with me and the kids in Venice and they went to school and had an Italian teacher."

Jolie went on to claim that people see her as "darker" than she is but Depp was able to see the softer side of her on set.

She added: "Sometimes people think of me as being darker, but Johnny has seen me with my kids, he's seen me on set giggling."

The 35-year-old also made reference to her late mother Marcheline Bertrand.

"I think maybe a bit of my mum has rubbed off on me - and hopefully I'm a little softer and more female than I'm assumed to be," she said.