Oscar-winning actor Jodie Foster has delivered a stark warning about the perils of child stardom, describing acting as "a cruel job" that was "chosen" for her and one she would never have selected for herself.
A Career Forged in Childhood
Speaking candidly at the Marrakech International Film Festival in Morocco on Sunday, Foster traced her unexpected entry into the industry. Her first professional booking came at the age of three for a Coppertone sunscreen commercial, a role she landed by accident after charming casting agents while accompanying her older brother to an audition.
This led to a relentless childhood schedule of adverts, sitcom work from 1968, and her first film role at just six years old. She became a familiar face on television and in films like 1973's Tom Sawyer. By the age of 12, she was portraying a child prostitute in Martin Scorsese's seminal Taxi Driver.
The Dangers of Early Stardom
Reflecting on this intense early exposure, Foster expressed deep concern for today's young performers. "I feel like, wait, where are their parents?" she asked the festival audience. "And why is nobody telling them that they should stop doing so many movies or maybe not be so drunk on the red carpet?"
She revealed a protective instinct, stating, "I want to take care of them because I know how dangerous it is." Foster professed bafflement at why anyone would pursue acting in the modern era, given the profession's cost. "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."
She credited her mother with providing a crucial defence: a firm boundary between her private and public lives, a delineation she believes is essential for survival in the spotlight.
A Shift in Perspective and Championing New Voices
This current viewpoint marks an evolution from her 1987 comments to Interview magazine, where she expressed love for her childhood work and valued her early commercial experience. In Marrakech, she suggested her inherent scepticism about the profession may have ultimately benefited her craft. "It makes my work a little bit different, because I am not interested in acting just for the sake of acting," she explained.
The conversation also turned to Foster's recent work, including her latest film, the French-language comedy thriller A Private Life by director Rebecca Zlotowski. Foster, who attended a French school from age three, felt at ease working in the language, calling it "half my culture."
She highlighted her recent collaboration with four consecutive female directors, a contrast to a career previously dominated by male filmmakers. Foster criticised the industry's historic reluctance to give women major opportunities, pointing out a circular logic used to deny them big budgets. "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?" she challenged.
Ultimately, Foster painted a complex picture of a lifelong career she never actively sought, one born from a three-year-old's chance audition, which shaped her into both a celebrated artist and a cautious observer of the industry's pressures.
