Terrifying Details About Jodie Foster's Life
As an Oscar-Award-winning actor and director, Jodie Foster is a legend in the film industry. Foster got her start in commercials when she was three. As a teen, she was already a star and earned an Oscar nomination for her role in "Taxi Driver." Even so, Foster has acknowledged that success has definite downsides. "There's nothing normal about being a public figure from the time when you were young, and there's a lot of negotiating around that -– to figure out how to be a whole person," she informed The Guardian.
Over the course of her long career, Foster has had some scary moments, both on and off set. When she worked on "Silence of the Lambs," Foster was freaked out by her co-star Anthony Hopkins. From day one, Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter terrified Foster. After their initial read-through of the script, Foster made a point of staying away from him unless they had a scene together. Finally, on the last day of production, Hopkins approached her. "I sort of had a tear in my eye, " Foster later recalled on "The Graham Norton Show." When she informed Hopkins, "I was really scared of you," Foster was surprised that he admitted to feeling fear towards her. Decades later, in 2021, the two actors overcame their mutual apprehension and participated in a video chat for Variety.
While that story has a positive ending, other terrifying instances in Foster's life could not be so easily resolved.
Foster was attacked by a lion as a kid
As a child actor, Jodie Foster played a leading role in the 1972 Disney movie "Napoleon and Samantha." The film's plot centers around Foster's interactions with a lion who is supposed to be her pet. However, one day on set, the lion unexpectedly picked Foster up and shook her in his mouth. "I was sideways, and I remember thinking, 'Oh, this is an earthquake,'" Foster recalled on "The Jonathan Ross Show" in 2017. To add to her terror, the actor watched as crewmembers grabbed their gear and ran while she was held captive. Finally, the lion's trainer commanded the animal to drop her. Foster fled, only to be pursued by the lion, who struck her leg and placed one of his paws on her.
While the encounter was frightening, in hindsight, Foster presumed she hadn't been in mortal danger. "He was playing because if he'd really want to kill me, that would have been easy," she explained to Ross. After she recovered from the incident, Foster courageously continued to work with the lion. However, she was more wary of him. In a later instance, Foster became uncomfortable with the way the lion was watching her. Opting for caution, she got away from the animal immediately. In addition, Foster has also admitted that she remains somewhat scared of cats because of this experience.
As a college freshman, Foster was stalked by two people
After seeing Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver," John Hinckley, Jr. started stalking the celebrity. Learning Foster was a student at Yale, Hinckley moved from Hollywood to Connecticut. He began leaving her numerous hand-written poems and letters. Foster ignored his messages and eventually reported Hinkley to Yale's dean. Undeterred, Hinkley called Foster and recorded her. He also recorded his own obsessive thoughts about the actor. "I think I'd rather just see her not on earth than being with other guys," he claimed (via The Independent). In an unsent letter intended for her, Hinkley described his plan to assassinate President Ronald Regan and said his motive was to "impress" Foster. Hinkley claimed he wouldn't need to commit this crime if Foster entered a relationship with him.
In March 1981, when Hinkley was arrested after he attempted to kill Reagan, law enforcement discovered Foster's picture on him. She was caught up in a maelstrom of media coverage and the FBI's investigation. Days later, during her performance in a campus play, someone left a note threatening Foster's life. Shortly after she received a second threat, authorities arrested a man named Richardson. Like Hinkley, Richardson planned to assassinate Reagan. However, he also intended to kill Foster first, only changing his mind after seeing her onstage. A year later, Foster wrote about the traumatic experience in Esquire, noting, "After a period of death-dodging you learn to believe that you've been picked for survival."
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