50 Years Ago: Jodie Foster’s Unlikely Masterpiece with a Cinema Legend!

In 1976, a teenage Jodie Foster starred alongside Robert De Niro in the iconic film “Taxi Driver,” directed by Martin Scorsese. Now, nearly half a century later, as an accomplished actress and director, she shares her experiences of meeting the legendary actor, and she doesn’t hold back.

Jodie Meets Robert

During an interview for the show Big Screen, Jodie Foster recalls her initial interactions with the Oscar-winning star. “He’s exactly as you’d imagine,” she begins. “That is, he’s somewhat shy, very reserved, and not very talkative. And when he does speak, it’s in a very fragmented way,” the actress continues.

“Back then, as I was just a kid, I found him somewhat dull. But he was very kind, and he wanted to help me with my acting. He came to my hotel several times, took me to cafes to practice our lines and work on some improvisation. He was a great help to me when I was 12,” explains the star of “The Silence of the Lambs.”

Back then, as I was just a kid, I found him somewhat dull. But he was very kind, and he wanted to help me with my acting.

Indeed, Jodie Foster portrayed a challenging character, a young prostitute named Iris. Travis, the hero played by De Niro, takes her under his wing to help her escape her dire circumstances under a cruel pimp played by Harvey Keitel.

A Reserved and Timid Man

At the last Marrakech Film Festival, Jodie Foster also elaborated on her relationship with Robert De Niro. “He’s one of our greatest American actors, and I’m so proud to have worked with him. But he’s not the most interesting person in the world,” the actress highlighted, as noted in Variety.

“At that time, he was deeply immersed in his character, as he often was back then. So he was really uninteresting, and I remember those lunches with him where I was thinking: What’s going on? When can I go home? And he really struggled to talk to me, so I ended up talking to waiters and people at the restaurants,” recalls Jodie Foster, who did not understand that De Niro was a practitioner of “method acting,” which involves deeply embodying the psyche of his character.

He was really uninteresting, and I remember those lunches with him where I was thinking: What’s going on? When can I go home?

However, Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro had a breakthrough when he finally let her into his preparation process. “At our third lunch together, he finally guided me through improvisation, and it opened my eyes to what acting could really be.”

“And I realized, at 12 years old: Oh, it’s my fault because I wasn’t bringing enough to the table. I was just saying my lines, waiting for the next one, and acting naturally, but building a character is something else. I remember the excitement I felt, I remember being a bit sweaty, giggly, and then going back up to my hotel room to tell my mother: I’ve had an epiphany. And I think from that point on, everything changed,” concluded Jodie Foster.

Sixteen years later, in 1992, she would win the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in “The Silence of the Lambs,” thereafter building one of the most illustrious careers in Hollywood. And if you’re missing Jodie, catch her now in “Private Life,” the latest film from director Rebecca Zlotowski.