Angelina Jolie has laughed about how she and husband Brad Pitt spent their honeymoon playing a married couple on the verge of splitting up.

The Maleficent actress stars alongside Brad in the upcoming By The Sea, which she also directed and which they shot in the weeks following their August wedding.

Angelina told The Hollywood Reporter: “Yes, we spent our honeymoon playing two people in a terrible marriage.

Angelina Jolie Brad Pitt
(Stefan Rousseau/PA)

“I’m sure a therapist would have a field day analysing the films I choose to do. But it’s been 10 years since Brad and I have worked together. It felt like it was time.”

The couple met while starring together in action film Mr and Mrs Smith in 2005, and now have six children together, tying the knot in a small, private ceremony earlier this year.

By The Sea was filmed in Malta and is about a couple trying to rekindle their marriage on a trip to Europe. It’s set to be released in cinemas in 2015.