Jodie Foster reflected on the lasting impact of Robert De Niro’s acting influence during a recent appearance at the Marrakech Film Festival, sharing how her collaboration with him in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver transformed her approach to performing. Speaking candidly about their time together when she was just 12 and he was already a revered figure in Hollywood, Foster described the profound shift that occurred when she began to understand De Niro’s intense preparation and method acting, which shaped the course of her career.
Early Encounters with Robert De Niro on the Set of Taxi Driver
When Foster first met Robert De Niro on the set of Taxi Driver, she was unimpressed, despite his status as one of the world’s most respected actors. At the time, Foster was a child actor, barely a teenager, and De Niro was known for his seriousness and dedication to the Method acting technique. Their interactions often took place in coffee shops, where he would invite Foster to rehearse lines over and over.
We’d run the lines and run the lines a second and third time. And I’m sure maybe some of you have been here when Robert De Niro was here. One of our greatest American actors, so proud to have worked with him — not the most interesting person on earth,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
During filming, De Niro often stayed in character, which Foster remembers as a rather dull experience. He rarely conversed with her during these lunches, leaving Foster to make conversation with the waiters and other people in the restaurant instead.
And at that time, he was very much in character, the way he was in those days. So he was really uninteresting and I remember having these lunches with him and being like, ‘What is happening? When can I go home?’ And he wouldn’t really be able to talk to me, so I would talk to the waiters and the people in the restaurants.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
A Breakthrough in Understanding Acting
The turning point for Foster came after several of these somewhat uncomfortable lunches. Eventually, De Niro allowed her to see his process by introducing her to improvisation, an exercise that revealed the depth and freedom available in acting. This experience led Foster to realize there was more to her craft than just memorizing lines and responding naturally.
He finally walked me through improvisation by the time we had our third lunch together, and it opened my eyes to what acting could be,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
She had a personal revelation, recognizing that she needed to bring more intention and creativity to her roles. The excitement of this discovery marked a clear turning point in how Foster viewed her profession and her own capabilities as an actor.
And I realized at 12, ‘Oh, it’s my fault because I haven’t brought enough to the table.’ I’ve just been saying lines and waiting for my next line and acting naturally, but building a character is something different. And I remember how excited I was, I remember being kind of sweaty and excited and giggly and coming back up into the hotel room to meet my mom and saying, ‘I’ve had this epiphany.’ And I think from there, everything changed.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Navigating the Film Industry at a Young Age
Starring in Taxi Driver led Foster to the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. However, she recounted how the studio was hesitant to cover the costs for her attendance, so her mother, who also served as her manager, insisted on the importance of the trip and arranged for them to pay their own way.
nobody wanted to bring me because they didn’t want to spend money on me.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Her mother—aware of Foster’s ability to speak French and recognizing the significance of Cannes—advocated fiercely for her daughter.
My mom said, ‘No, it’s really important. She speaks French. This is Cannes!’
– Jodie Foster, Actor
And so we paid for our own flights.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Amidst concerns about the volatility of the film’s subject matter, Foster worked alongside notable names from the industry, including Harvey Keitel and director Martin Scorsese. She recalled their anxiety over the film’s reception, particularly regarding its graphic violence and potential for attracting an X rating, which kept her colleagues confined to their hotel rooms while she fronted the media in French.
We all did the press conference together, but then after the press conference, they all got too scared, and they wouldn’t leave their rooms at the Hotel du Cap,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
So I ended up doing all the interviews in French for the entire team of ‘Taxi Driver’!
– Jodie Foster, Actor
A Reluctant Journey into Acting
Despite her early start and remarkable film debut at six years old, Foster admitted that acting was not a path she had chosen for herself. She expressed a deep ambivalence about the profession, citing her introverted nature and lack of desire for the attention that often comes with being an actor.
I would never have chosen to be an actor, I don’t have the personality of an actor. I’m not somebody that wants to dance on a table and, you know, sing songs for people,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Throughout her youth, Foster persevered in a career she described as “cruel,” feeling she had been thrust into it without any clear memory of when it began. This detachment informed her approach to the craft and also made her sensitive to the pressures on young actors in the industry today.
It’s actually just a cruel job that was chosen for me as a young person that I don’t remember starting. So right there, it makes my work a little bit different because I am not interested in acting just for the sake of acting. If I was on a desert island, I think probably the last thing I would ever do is act. So I was just trying to survive.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Foster regularly extends support to young child actors, understanding firsthand the vulnerability of growing up in the spotlight. She called into question the guidance available to today’s generation, comparing it to her own experience with supportive parenting.
reaching out to the young child actors of this era,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
I feel like, wait, where are their parents? And why is nobody telling them that they should stop doing so many movies or maybe not be so drunk on the red carpet? I want to take care of them because I know how dangerous it is.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
She stressed the importance of drawing boundaries between public and private life, acknowledging the heavy cost of a career in acting.
I don’t know why anyone would want to be an actor now, if they knew that in order to be excellent they would have to contend with being robbed of their life in a way. I don’t know how you make sense of that except to have what my mom helped me do, which is to have this very firm delineation between your private life and your public life.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Seeking Strong Roles and Promoting Central Characters
Though Foster did not choose her career, she was particularly motivated to seek out powerful female roles. She avoided parts that cast her as merely an attachment to another character, instead desiring to be at the heart of the story. This perspective also resonated with the second wave of feminism, which drove her ambition to create meaningful work.
I didn’t want to be the sister of, the wife of, the daughter of, the girlfriend of. I just wanted the movie to be about me,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Over time, her ambitions evolved in tandem with broader cultural movements, pressing for female agency on screen.
reacting to a second wave feminist interest of saying, ‘I want to matter. I want to make movies that matter.’
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Female Directors and the Challenge of Breaking the Mold
Foster’s career initially saw her collaborating mainly with male directors, particularly in mainstream films. She observed significant gender imbalances in the industry, only recently working with women directors on her last four projects.
Then in the last four films, they’ve all been women!
– Jodie Foster, Actor
She explained how for many years, women were rarely entrusted with directing big-budget films, with their lack of experience often cited as a reason, despite the circular logic that prevented them from acquiring it in the first place.
I mean, really up until 15 years ago, when you look at the list for mainstream movies and you go down the director’s list, I never saw a female name,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
If you’re making a movie that has a certain risk attached to it … they would say, ‘Wow, there’s no woman that’s directed a movie that cost $125 million,’
– Jodie Foster, Actor
the idea was not to give women these huge mega movies if they had not had any experience. How about giving women the experience first?
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Television, Streaming, and Telling Diverse Stories
Having built her legacy in cinema, Foster showed appreciation for television and streaming as new platforms for storytelling. Her recent role in HBO’s True Detective: Night Country earned her both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Foster believes streaming offers unique opportunities to tell complex, multi-faceted stories, citing the increased room to focus on diverse voices, such as those of Native Americans.
I’m embracing this idea of there being these two opposite ends of the industry — one which is mainstream Hollywood, mainstream distributor films and more independent films on the other end … and then streaming, which has really taken up the mantle of narrative. You’re able to take up eight-hour stories or five-season stories where you can explore every angle in a way that you could never in a feature.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Foster referenced Martin Scorsese’s 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon, noting the limits of feature films in allowing stories—especially those from marginalized communities—to be told in full scope.
what we had was a very interesting movie about two guys who go back and forth and they talk to each other.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
I think everybody was excited that the Native story was going to be told. And what they found was like, ‘Wow, all the Native women are dead,’
– Jodie Foster, Actor
What they said was, ‘Well, it’s a feature, we didn’t have time!’ But there was time. There was an eight-hour limited series that was not made, that could have been made, where if you really needed to explore all of that male toxic masculinity, you could have done that, but you could have had Episode 2 actually center the Native story.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
International Cinema and Embracing Cultural Diversity
Now presenting her latest work, Rebecca Zlotowski’s French comedy thriller A Private Life, Foster expressed her enthusiasm for making more films in French, emphasizing how her bilingual and bicultural background offers a sense of fulfillment and allows her to continuously discover new facets of herself.
Of course, because I do feel like it’s a part of my personality that I just never get to use, and half my culture, because I went to a French school,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
She compared filmmaking across borders to joining a “global family,” appreciating both the universality and the opportunity for cultural learning.
I love the global family of making films. It feels like they’re the same people wearing the same jeans and complaining about coffee at 3 in the morning. But it also allows me to open up and learn a new culture, too.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Looking Ahead: Continued Ambition and Artistic Drive
Even after decades in the spotlight, Foster remains passionate about filmmaking, expressing her commitment to continue acting and creating for as long as possible.
I’ll be making films until I die,
– Jodie Foster, Actor
You can’t get rid of me that fast.
– Jodie Foster, Actor
Foster’s appearance at the Marrakech Film Festival highlights her ongoing influence in international cinema, as well as her continued dedication to supporting a new generation of actors, filmmakers, and storytellers. Surrounded by industry figures such as Bong Joon Ho, Jenna Ortega, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Celine Song, she remains a pivotal presence, shaped by early experiences with icons like Robert De Niro and the ever-evolving environment of the entertainment world.
