Even though Jodie Foster worked with multi-take director David Fincher on “Panic Room,” that doesn’t mean she necessarily enjoys that kind of process. Speaking with Jodie Comer for Interview magazine, Foster admitted that she tends not to get too in her own head about acting and, at one point in her career, would even insulate herself from her co-stars.
“I’ve always made movies by myself, where it was just about my character, and I didn’t have to deal with the other actors,” Foster said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand that was selfish of me, jealously guarding something that I didn’t want to share. Now I’m learning to enter in and say, ‘How are we together and dynamic?’ Instead of it all being about me. It has been so interesting, because now I meet all these actors that do everything differently.”
Foster has also been known to step behind the camera as well, having directed films like “Home for the Holidays” and “Money Monster,” as well as television episodes of “Black Mirror” and “Tales from the Loop.” Reflecting on how her process differs as a director, she said, “When I direct, I love to talk, so I talk to people about the techniques, but I don’t like to get inside an actor’s body, because I think that’s invasive. Tell me, ‘Faster, slower.’ Tell me, ‘I didn’t feel that part,’ but don’t talk about my childhood, and don’t try and be one with me.”
In this sense, Foster puts a lot of reliability on the actors coming onto the set already prepared, having worked out the nuances of their characters in the rehearsal and pre-production process.
“I want them to not question themselves, so that you create something that’s cohesive and feels spontaneous, raw, and fresh,” said Foster to Comer for Interview. “I tell directors that, but they don’t listen to me, so sometimes I’ll work on a movie where I have to do 120 takes, and I’m like, ‘Okay, alright, bye.’”
Foster later acknowledged the fact that acting was never something that felt like it fit her perfectly. She said, “Look, I was not naturally an actor. I just got stuck in it when I was three. I probably would’ve been a lawyer or a college professor. It’s just not my way. So I loved the technical sides of filmmaking, but I never fell in love with the acting part. It was against my nature, and I think has made me a richer person because of it.”
