Everyone told me, “Your career will be over.”
Jodie Foster vs. a serial killer. Looks familiar, this latest role in season 4 of True Detective. Elegance spoke exclusively one-on-one with the 61-year-old actress in Paris. “I was excited the first time my movie made $100 million, the second time less so, and the third time I didn’t care.”
Maintaining family
Jodie has been in the film business for almost sixty years, the first time as a toddler. Not to become famous, but to ‘help support’ the family. “I didn’t become an actress because I like to be the center of attention or dance on tables. I became an actress when I was three years old. Because I could contribute to the upkeep of the family,” she explains.
“My mother was a single parent with four children. We all helped, my brother Buddy also worked, one of my sisters drove us to the castings, the other learned the lines with us.” Did she choose it herself? Probably not. “I was the complete opposite of a kid who wanted to be in front of the camera. I was a nerd. Very reserved, controlled and hardworking. I was always working.”
Robert de Niro
Yet at some point I fell in love with the profession.”When I made Taxi Driver. It was sparked by Robert De Niro,” she says. “I mainly thought: you memorize a few lines, step onto the set and say them as naturally as possible. Only later did I realize the beauty of it. That was when De Niro started improvising and I completely panicked. Suddenly I realized that it was up to me to develop a complex character. That was extremely stimulating!”
Do not agree with
Jodie’s mother was her manager from the age of three to 22, but did not always agree with her decisions. “The first time was when I wanted to go to Yale to study, shortly after I won the Oscar for The Accused. I ended up studying at Yale for five years. Everyone told me, “Your career will be over.” And it was, somewhat.” The second time she didn’t agree when she decided to direct. “Just after the Oscar for The Silence of the Lambs. Since I was at the peak of my acting career and could make the most money at the time, she said it was a very bad choice. I didn’t listen and I’m very happy.”
Relaxed
Jodie had her own production company for twelve years. “At some point I had to admit to myself that I’m not a particularly good producer, I’m just not ambitious enough when it comes down to it,” she confesses. “Once you have achieved a lot, you can relax. For a long time I was driven by the fear that my family would be poor again. I now feel much freer to sit back and that is why I only make a film every three or four years.”
She continues, “The first time one of my movies made $100 million I was excited, the second time I wasn’t so excited, and the third time I didn’t care. What I mean to say is that goals and ambition evaporate and you start to focus on what matters. A fulfilling artistic life and family.”
Text: Jorrit Niels | Image: NL Image
