"Tomb Raider" star Angelina Jolie will play Matt Damon's wife in the espionage drama "The Good Shepherd", directed, produced and co-starring Robert De Niro.

The film, which will begin shooting in March, is the first stint behind the camera for De Niro since he made "A Bronx Tale" in 1993, reported The Guardian.

Jolie will play the wife of a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent (Matt Damon). The story is seen through the eyes of a lifelong agent, whose marriage has been ruined by years of service.

The script is by "Forrest Gump" writer Eric Roth and is set against a 40-year history of the American intelligence organisation.

Matt Damon, who has most recently shot "Syriana" opposite his "Ocean's Twelve" co-star George Clooney, has replaced Leonardo DiCaprio, who was first set to play the lead.

Jolie is currently working on "A Moment in the World", a self-financed documentary, in which 38 film crews around the world will capture events in the same four-minute period.