Her comeliness allowed her to segue back into show business, first as a professional model, and later, as an actress in music videos. In addition to appearing in five student films directed by her older brother, Jolie became a member of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Theatre Company, where she honed her craft alongside such veteran players as Holly Hunter, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan.
She made her return to the screen playing a heroic human/machine hybrid in the above-average direct-to-video sci-fi actioner, "Cyborg II: Glass Shadows" (1993), but the entry went virtually unnoticed by critics. Luckily, her flashy role as Kate (a.k.a. 'Acid Burn') in the cyber-thriller "Hackers" (1995) garnered her more attention and better notices.
She next starred in another espionage thriller, "The Tourist" (2010), playing a mysterious British woman who pulls an unwitting American (Johnny Depp) vacationing in Italy into a whirlwind of intrigue and danger. Though attractive to look at, "The Tourist" was blasted by most critics for its slow plot and lack of chemistry between the leads. Regardless, the film earned surprising Golden Globe nominations for both Jolie and Depp.