Angelina Jolie took a maternal approach when working on her directorial debut.

The Oscar-winning actress - who raises children Maddox, 10, Pax, eight, Zahara, six, Shiloh, five and three-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, with partner Brad Pitt - believes being a mother helped her while she worked on Bosnian War love story 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'.

She said: "There's constantly people asking you for something, so the multi-tasking of motherhood transfers very well to being a director. With all these other adults, you still feel this strange, nurturing, mothering quality for everybody."

The 36-year-old beauty is best known for her roles in 'Salt' and 'Mr. &. Mrs Smith', but revealed that she actually preferred working behind the scenes on her latest project.

She told Collider.com: "I loved watching another actress in the spotlight, do an extraordinary job, and I loved making her beautiful and interesting, protecting her emotions, and showing people her talent.

"It's all very bizarre. I still find it very strange. I don't know how I got here. I didn't intend to do this, really."