EXCLUSIVE: Friendship, interrupted! Angelina Jolie's BFF and co-star Jillian Armenante is seen pacing and looking 'distressed' after Brad Pitt calls on her to testify as a star witness to Angie's parenting in bitter custody fight

Angelina Jolie's Girl, Interrupted co-star has been spotted looking stressed after Brad Pitt called on her to be a star witness in the former Hollywood power couple's custody trial.

It appears the stress of the bitter court battle has been getting to actress Jillian Armenante when she was spotted in Los Angeles this week, seen in exclusive DailyMailTV photos.

An eyewitness said the 52-year-old seemed 'distressed' and was 'pacing up and down like a tiger in a cage' as she nervously spoke on the phone.

Pitt, 56, included Armenante on the witness list his lawyers presented ahead of court hearings to determine how much time he and Jolie, 45, will each get with their kids.  

The hearings are expected to last until October 23 and are being held in private.

Actress Jillian Armenante was spotted in Los Angeles this week, seen in exclusive DailyMailTV photos, after being called on to testify

An eyewitness said the 52-year-old seemed 'distressed' and was 'pacing up and down like a tiger in a cage' as she nervously spoke on the phone

Jolie and Armenante were co-stars in the 1999 film Girl, Interrupted and again in the 2007 film A Mighty Heart. They're pictured at the world preview of Girl, Interrupted

Armenante has been called to 'testify regarding her interactions and communications with and observations of Petitioner , Respondent and/or the children', according to Pitt's witness list. 

The New Jersey actress' connection to the ex-couple is her relationship with Jolie after starring in two films together. 

Armenante was called on by Brad Pitt to testify as a star witness to Angelina Jolie's parenting in their custody battle

First she worked on hit movie Girl, Interrupted in 1999, which earned Jolie an Oscar for best supporting actress.

In 2007 she teamed up with Jolie again to star in A Mighty Heart, an account of the search for kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

Armenante has also had roles with acclaimed movie directors such as the Coen brothers and she has worked on hit TV shows like The West Wing, Six Feet Under and Grey's Anatomy.

The source who spotted her this week told DailyMailTV that it seemed as though Armenante 'couldn't focus.'

'She was frantically standing up and sitting down and seemed distressed and distracted with the call she was on,' the source said. 

'It was like she didn't quite know what she was doing while she was taking the call or whether she was coming or going. She was pacing up and down like a tiger in a cage, going back and forth.

'At times she looked pained and she certainly didn't smile through any of the conversation.'

Pitt and Jolie share Maddox, 19, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star is reportedly seeking 50/50 joint physical and legal custody of their underage children, while Maddox is now an adult and therefore free to go with either parent.

Jolie starred opposite Armenante and Winona Ryder in the 1999 film Girl, Interrupted, which followed a troubled young woman at a psychiatric hospital

A source who saw Armenante said, 'She was frantically standing up and sitting down and seemed distressed and distracted with the call she was on'

The source who observed her this week told DailyMailTV that it seemed as though Armenante 'couldn't focus'

Jolie pictured with the kids in Paris in 2017.  Pitt and Jolie share Maddox, 19, Pax, 16, Zahara, 15, Shiloh, 14, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12

A source told Us Weekly last month that Jolie does not agree with those terms and the couple are no longer taking part in family therapy.

The insider reportedly said: ' will only agree to talk about an agreement if the home base for the children isn't Los Angeles.

'The younger kids are in school in Los Angeles, which Angelina has always been opposed to.

'They are very smart and are eager to attend school in person amid the COVID-19 .'

Pitt and Jolie famously fell in love on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston. 

The couple married in France in 2014 after 10 years of dating, but split two years later in September 2016. 

The pair had previously reached a custody agreement in November 2018 which appeared to prevent the need for a trial.

Earlier this year in June they appeared to be getting along better and Pitt was spotted leaving Jolie's gated community in Los Feliz on his BMW motorcycle.

Armenante is named among 20 other witnesses, including child psychologists, security experts and personal assistants, who will appear in court to testify 

It was the first time that he had been spotted at her home since she filed for divorce in 2016 following an alleged altercation with their eldest son Maddox.  

The bitter custody battle is also known to have stemmed in no small part from the actress' desire to move the children abroad.

Earlier this year in June Pitt was spotted leaving Jolie's gated community in Los Feliz on his BMW motorcycle

Brad vehemently opposed taking the kids abroad via his legal team. 

Back in November last year Jolie admitted: 'I would love to live abroad and will do so as soon as my children are 18,' she said. 'Right now, I'm having to base where their father chooses to live.' 

In June last year, Brad – who admitted being an alcoholic at the time of their split but is now recovered – secured a legal breakthrough when a judge ruled he would be permitted more time with the children. 

He is believed to see them every few days. 

DailyMailTV revealed both Pitt and Jolie are calling on a host of psychologists and doctors, including domestic violence expert Alyce LaViolette, who controversially clashed with a prosecutor in a 2013 murder trial by describing killer Jodi Arias as the victim of abuse. 

But Pitt has also listed his estranged wife's personal assistant Michael Ofstedahl. 

Also called to testify are security experts and bodyguards, including Ross Foster who worked security on By The Sea, a 2015 movie starring both Jolie and Pitt. 

William Thiel, a security expert who runs Beverly Hills-based company Personal Protection Special has also been called as a witness.