What You Don't Know About Jodie Foster
Throughout the past 50 years, everyone has fallen in love with Jodie Foster at some point. As one of the most prolific and pioneering women in Hollywood, Jodie Foster has done it all. From her TV acting on The X-Files, her Oscar-winning work on The Silence of the Lambs, and even her directing work on the iconic "Arkangel" episode of Black Mirror, she's a force to be reckoned with (via IMDb). Was anyone else today years old when they found out she directed that episode? Well, you're not alone.
There are a lot of other things many don't know about the actress, from what she likes to do in her free time to how she handled certain movie roles. Despite being one of the biggest actresses of our time, she's been quite elusive about her personal life. But, the Hollywood veteran hasn't left her fans in the dark about everything.
Jodie Foster can speak five languages (and is even fluent in two of them)
In school, almost everyone takes a language course, but most of the time it never sticks. However, that's not the case for Oscar-winning starlet Jodie Foster. By the age of 14, she was fluent in French, since she attended a French prep school named Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles (via Business Insider Australia). It also stuck with her even further since she worked in France for films such as Stop Calling Me Baby! (or Moi, fleur bleue), and cult-favorite, A Very Long Engagement. Due to her fluency in French, it's been reported that Jodie Foster dubbed her own movies as well (via Babbel). Following that, she also became fluent in Italian at only 18 years old (via IMDb).
Now, she can speak five languages, the last of which include German and Spanish (via EuroTalk).
Jodie Foster helped save an extraterrestrial intelligence institute from going under
It's no secret that Jodie Foster has been in a few projects based around otherworldly concepts. Some of which being the hit show, The X Files, and starring in the 1997 sci-fi film, Contact. But did you know she's interested in the concept of extraterrestrial life, in real life?
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI) handles an array of projects for the search for other intelligent life. Some projects include the Allen Telescope Array of 42 radio telescopes, outreach programs, and more. Unfortunately, in 2011, the program lost most of its funding and was searching for new ways of raising money.
According to HuffPost, quite a few generous donors saved the program from going under. One of the biggest contributors was Jodie Foster herself! So, because of Foster being a major contributor, SETI continues to look for extraterrestrial life today.
Jodie Foster was terrified of Anthony Hopkins
As one of her most notable roles to date, Jodie Foster starred in the 1991 crime drama The Silence of the Lambs. Foster starred as the brilliant and determined F.B.I. agent, Clarice Starling. Throughout the film, Clarice has to catch a serial killer before they strike again. But the only way to catch them is to receive help from a cannibal killer, Hannibal Lector.
Now, it seems as though Jodie Foster and her character, Clarice, had another thing in common. They both didn't want to talk to Hannibal Lector. During the making of The Silence of the Lambs, Foster was terrified of Anthony Hopkins. During an interview on the The Graham Norton Show, Foster stated, "I never spoke to him because he was so scary ... The first day, we had a read-through, and by the end of it I never wanted to talk to him again. I was petrified." She was so scared of his portrayal as Hannibal Lecter that she avoided him all throughout filming, unless they had to perform a scene together. She didn't speak to him face to face until the last day of filming!
She is a fitness freak
Everyone has that one sport or activity that gets their heart racing. The activity that you look forward to doing on your day off, whether it be relaxing yoga or rock climbing. For Jodie Foster, she can't get enough when it comes to fitness. Despite being in her fifties, Foster hasn't slowed down one bit when it comes to staying active. She has said she starts her day with "20 pushups and 20 minutes of jogging every single morning" to recharge for the upcoming day (via Best Buy Beauty Supply Miami).
Not only that, but she enjoys nearly every physical activity you can think of. According to How Celebrities Lose Weight, she enjoys a variety of activities such as:
- Yoga
- Kickboxing
- Karate
- Weightlifting
- Aerobics
- Spinning classes
- Cardio workouts
- Pilates
That's even exhausting to read through — doing it all seems almost impossible. Seriously, is there nothing she can't do?
Jodie's sister was her double in Taxi Driver
Jodie Foster's breakout role was in the 1976 Martin Scorsese drama, Taxi Driver. It's reported that Scorsese wanted an uknown actress, despite nearly 18,000 hopeful girls auditioning (via IMDb). Within this role, Foster played a child prostitute named Iris. Since Foster was only 14 at the time, she couldn't partake in the explicit scenes her character was a part of. But did they bring in a stunt double? No, they brought in her older sister, Connie, who was also an actress at the time. They brought in Connie to be Jodie's double and do the explicit scenes for her sister. That is probably the biggest I.O.U. I've ever heard of from a pair of siblings.
While it was Foster's breakout role, she had to undergo several psychological evaluations to perform in most of her scenes (via Listverse). Despite these trials, the classic film landed Foster on a path to superstardom, starting at a young age.