Angelina Jolie was filming Tomb Raider in Cambodia in 2000 and she fell in love with the place. That makes her why she wanted to adopt a baby from there.
Angelina Jolie's former right-hand man in Cambodia, Sarath, who helped Jolie through Maddox's adoption, tells DailyMail.com on why Jolie choose Maddox, "There are a lot of children in the world that need good care, need a better life. By that time, she wanted to be a mother, but thought it was better to be a mother to some baby who desperately needs good care".
"That's why she decided on Maddox rather than a biological baby. That's what I heard from her, we talked about everything".
"He was clever, sharp, smart, a lovely kid, who smiled at people more than any of the other babies. I always remember his smiley face".
"As far as I understand from her, when she visited the place [orphanage] and saw Maddox, he smiled at her and got up, instead of crying like all the other babies".
"He was smiling right at her, it touched her heart, that's why she chose Maddox."
Then he continue, "Cambodian people, we were proud and happy for him growing up in such a high class life. Many others in the population don't get that chance. We'd love him to go back and understand his culture".
"She was planning to return as much as possible, it was going to be the second home for Maddox".
"He grew up in a modern life, if he could make a contribution back to his own people, that would be very nice. If he could learn about his heritage and culture, how he came to be in the orphanage - a horrifying part to his early life".
"He could have turned out to be a street kid, a lot of them fall through the net and go out into drug addiction, glue sniffing. The orphanage system in Cambodia is not well managed, a lot of the kids are not protected, donor money only goes so far, and the government doesn't do anything".
"He is a lucky boy compared to many, many in Cambodia. It would be nice for him to come back and help the community".