Angelina Jolie won't be as "lovely" a Cleopatra as Elizabeth Taylor was.

The 'Salt' actress is set to take on the role of the iconic Egyptian Queen - previously portrayed on the big screen by the cinematic icon - but has promised she will give a very different portrayal to that seen in the 1963 movie.

She said: "I will play it differently to Elizabeth Taylor, but I could never be as lovely as she was.

"We are trying to uncover the truth about her as a leader and not just a sex symbol which she really wasn't - she didn't have many lovers, maybe only two, and they're men she had children with."

Despite admitting to a life-long admiration of Cleopatra, Angelina was stunned by what she learned when she started researching the role.

She explained to the New Straits Times newspaper: "She was misunderstood and her life story was written wrongly. I always thought her life was very glamorous. Then I read her story and found a different side to her - that she was a mother, leader and an intellect who spoke five languages! Her upbringing also reflected her relationship with Rome - all that is much more interesting than what she was summed up to be."