Salma Hayek Pinault describes Angelina Jolie as a 'motherly figure' on the Without Blood set

Salma Hayek Pinault revealed that Angelina Jolie brought a maternal presence to the set of Without Blood, which Jolie wrote and directed. Speaking to PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film premiered on Sunday, Hayek Pinault praised Jolie’s warmth and leadership. "I was surprised... by how warm and generous and kind she was as a director to the actors. It was really something," Hayek Pinault, 58, shared. The two previously worked together on Eternals.

In Without Blood, Hayek Pinault plays a woman grappling with the trauma of witnessing her family suffer violent events. Hayek Pinault described Jolie’s approach to directing as familial. "In Eternals, I was a little bit of a mother figure to her. In this movie, I felt like she was my motherly figure," she said, adding that Jolie was emotionally supportive throughout filming.

Jolie, who has directed films like Unbroken and By the Sea, drew on her experiences in conflict zones for Without Blood, which explores themes of trauma and survival. In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jolie said, "I’ve spent a lot of time in conflict zones... It’s not always about why these horrible things happen. It really is a lot about how people get through them."

Hayek Pinault praised Jolie’s directorial skills, telling PEOPLE that working with her allowed her to "discover things about myself as an actress." She described the experience as "life-changing."