Hollywood Royalty: ‘Everyone Told Me My Career Would Be Finished'

Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster on going against the grain and the changes in the film industry

- Jenny Davis

Double Academy Award-winner Jodie Foster has had a long and varied career spanning six decades. The 58-year-old American actress and director started out at the age of three and has appeared in a string of iconic films such as psychological horror The Silence Of The Lambs with Anthony Hopkins and 1988 legal drama The Accused.

And in our chat, Jodie who is mum to Charles, 23, and Kit, 19, and is married to photographer Alexandra Hedison, reveals some stories of her time in the movie-making business, including when she played prostitute Iris in the film Taxi Driver alongside Robert De Niro at the age of 12. It was a controversial role at the time, but she describes taking part in the film as “fate” and “destiny” and it certainly seems that way, as it gave Jodie her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Jodie also opens up about her son Charles following in her footsteps, although she admits the industry has changed dramatically since her heyday. “Now you can make films with peanuts, you can make films with your friends, you can make films on a mobile phone,” she says. “Anyone can be a filmmaker. Anyone.”

Here Jodie, whose most recent role was in the film The Mauritanian, reflects on the risks she’s taken in her career and her most memorable performances…

Hi Jodie! You must have faced difficulties during your career, especially starting so young – how have you overcome them?