Jodie Foster claims Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese were “scared” of her on ‘Taxi Driver’ set
As a child actor, Jodie Foster elevated her fledgling career to the next level in the aftermath of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver.
The role landed her an Academy Award nomination for ‘Best Supporting Actress’, despite Foster being only 13 years old when the movie was released. In the movie, she played child sex worker Iris and worked alongside two of cinema’s brightest talents at the top of their respective games. While this sounds daunting, the actor revealed the shoe was actually on the other foot.
Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel Live, Foster acknowledged that being directed to carry out her character’s remits at such a young age was “a little awkward”, especially when “they had to say things like, you know, ‘Can you pull his fly down?'”
Ironically, at the time, she had more film and television experience than either Scorsese or De Niro, leading her to reveal that both men were intimidated by having to work with such a seasoned professional, even though she was only 12 when cameras began rolling.
As she explained: “Yeah, they were a little scared, Scorsese especially.” Foster would note that the filmmaker “kept giggling every time he talked to me”, so much so that “he’d start giggling and De Niro had to take over.”
When pressed on whether or not that could be interpreted as a special case, Foster remarked on how “Scorsese giggles with everybody”, so at least a career full of hard-hitting character studies and bullet-riddled gangster films hasn’t hardened his jovial soul.
Most actors – never mind teenagers – could easily be awestruck collaborating with Scorsese and De Niro, but Foster turned the tables on them based on reputation alone.
Watch Foster’s appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live below.
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