Heartbreaking reason Angelina Jolie hired hitman to kill her before asking question that changed her mind

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

Angelina Jolie once hired a hitman to kill her for a heartbreaking reason, but she changed her mind after he asked her a question.

The big-screen star once told IMDb that back in 2001 she was going through a 'rather bleak' time in her life and decided she would hire a hitman to kill her.

She said: "This is going to sound insane but there was a time I was going to hire somebody to kill me."

Speaking to The Face in 2003, Jolie explained further that a hitman was 'not that hard to find in New York', adding: "As insane as it sounds, I think a lot of people consider suicide when they’re young."

Angelina Jolie once hired a hitman to kill her. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Her decision to hire someone rather than take her own life was made because she believed it would make her death easier for her loved ones to cope with.

"I was very aware that so many people around me, like my mother, would feel as though they didn’t give enough or do enough, if I’d taken my own life.

"So my solution to that was if someone else had taken my life – like in a ‘robbery’ – then it would be murder and it wouldn’t be that anyone would feel they’d let me down."

Jolie hired a hitman and planned things out, deciding she would 'take out cash over a certain amount of time, so there wasn't a big chunk in my bank account'.

However, a question from the hitman himself led to Jolie changing her mind.

She thought hiring a hitman might make her death easier on her family, but he asked her to wait a couple of months and think it over. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

She said: "He was a decent enough person and asked if I could think about it and call him again in two months. Something changed in my life and I figured I'd stick it out."

In 2011 Jolie appeared on 60 Minutes where she spoke about having a dark past.

She said: "I went through heavier, darker times and I survived them. I didn't die young, so I’m very lucky. There are other artists and people who didn’t survive certain things.

"For many reasons I shouldn’t be here. You think of those too many times where you came close to too many dangerous things, too many chances taken too far."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.