The Hollywood couple started work on the movie in Malta shortly after their wedding in France last year (14), with Angelina both directing and starring opposite her new husband in the tale of a crumbling marriage.

Brad has now heaped praised on Angelina as a director, insisting he found it "sexy" to be given orders by his wife on-set.

"It's surprising how much I enjoy the direction of my wife," he tells V Magazine. "She's decisive, incredibly intuitive, and might I say sexy at her post. I trust her with my life... I operated on pure instinct. Angie and I have too much history and understanding of each other to question beyond there..."

However, Brad had doubts over whether skipping their honeymoon to make a movie about a bad marriage would work: "It was probably not the wisest way to spend a honeymoon. But then again, fighting to make something together... what better metaphor for marriage?... It's not a film that responds to the current zeitgeist or mode of storytelling - rather, a quiet, mature look at the challenges of love and adult loss."​

Angelina, who also wrote the film, recently revealed she deliberately tried to antagonise Brad on set in order to draw a good performance from him.

"I'd be directing myself and him in a scene where we're having a fight, and I'd be pulling out the parts (of him) that have an aggression toward me or when you're frustrated with each other - it was very heavy.

"We kept joking that all of the crew felt like they were living in a house where the parents were fighting and you don't know where to stand or where to look."

She also admitted filming the emotional drama took a toll on her: "We're proud of ourselves for being brave enough to try it. I think By the Sea was the hardest film for me..."

By The Sea is due to premiere at the AFI Fest 2015 in Los Angeles. The film festival kicks off on 5 November (15).