Jodie Foster reflected on her iconic collaboration with Robert De Niro in the Martin Scorsese classic, revealing that her first impression of De Niro during the filming of Taxi Driver was far from awe-inspiring. Discussing their work together, Foster offered candid insights into their dynamic, providing a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the celebrated film, a frequent reference point when discussing Robert De Niro Taxi Driver.
Jodie Foster’s Candid Reflections from Marrakech
During a discussion at the Marrakech Film Festival, Jodie Foster, known for her role in The Silence of the Lambs, looked back on her professional path and recounted her time on Taxi Driver, the 1976 film directed by Martin Scorsese. At just twelve years old, Foster was cast as a child sex worker, while Robert De Niro portrayed a troubled Vietnam veteran struggling with mental health issues. The film has since become a major point in cinema history and careers for both stars.
First Encounters with Robert De Niro
Recalling her initial experiences on set, Foster shared that repeatedly reading lines with De Niro didn’t leave her with the impression one might expect given his stature. She recalled her thoughts about those sessions, stating,
“We’d run the lines and run the lines a second and third time. And I’m sure maybe some of you have been here when Robert De Niro was here. One of our greatest American actors, so proud to have worked with him — not the most interesting person on earth.”
— Jodie Foster, Actor. She elaborated that as a young teenager, she found De Niro’s approach during that era of his career made him come across as “really uninteresting”.
She explained further,
“And at that time, he was very much in character, the way he was in those days. So he was really uninteresting, and I remember having these lunches with him and being like, ‘What is happening? When can I go home?’ And he wouldn’t really be able to talk to me, so I would talk to the waiters and the people in the restaurants.”
— Jodie Foster, Actor. This intense focus on character meant De Niro barely engaged in conversation with Foster, leaving her often interacting with waitstaff and others nearby instead of her Oscar-winning colleague.
Finding Common Ground through Improvisation
Despite these challenging beginnings, Foster found her perspective shifting after several attempts to connect with De Niro. She recounted,
“He finally walked me through improvisation by the time we had our third lunch together, and it opened my eyes to what acting could be,”
— Jodie Foster, Actor. Through improvisational exercises, De Niro helped Foster see acting as more than simply reciting lines, guiding her to a deeper understanding of character work.
This realization led Foster to a key moment in her development as an actor. As she described,
“I realised at 12, ‘Oh, it’s my fault because I haven’t brought enough to the table.’ I’ve just been saying lines and waiting for my next line and acting naturally, but building a character is something different.”
— Jodie Foster, Actor. This self-awareness marked a turning point for Foster, changing how she approached her craft for the rest of her career.
Impact on Foster’s Career and Beyond
The experience with De Niro and the lessons learned on Taxi Driver had a lasting effect, inspiring Foster during her formative years in the film industry. She recalled how the realization left her feeling “sweaty and giggly and excited,” before confiding in her mother:
“‘I’ve had this epiphany.’ And I think from there, everything changed.”
— Jodie Foster, Actor. Foster’s discovery of the deeper layers of performance had profound consequences, influencing everything that followed in her career.
Looking ahead, Foster remains active in international cinema; her next significant project is a French-language mystery thriller titled Vie Privée. The film premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and is expected to reach a larger audience with an upcoming release in 2026. Both Foster’s legacy in films such as Taxi Driver and her continued work underscore her enduring presence in the entertainment world, shaped in no small part by those formative and, at times, conflicted experiences with De Niro on set.
