Jodie Foster recently discussed her experience working with Robert De Niro on Taxi Driver, labeling him “uninteresting.” While she praised De Niro as one of the “greatest American actors,” she also said that he was “not the most interesting person.”
Jodie Foster recalls first meeting with Robert De Niro for Taxi Driver
At the Marrakech Film Festival, The Silence of the Lambs star shared that Robert De Niro often stayed in character even when they were off set and spending time preparing for upcoming scenes.
“We’d run the lines and run the lines a second and third time,” Foster recalled. “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.” (via Variety)
The Oscar-winning actress explained that De Niro had fully immersed himself in his role. “And at that time, he was very much in character, the way he was in those days,” Foster shared. “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,” she added.
Although she initially found their meetings dull, Foster eventually understood De Niro’s process. “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,” she shared.
The Accused actress recalled the moment when everything fell in place for her. She said. “I remember how excited I was, I remember being kind of sweaty and excited and giggly and coming back up into the hotel room to meet my mom and saying, ‘I’ve had this epiphany.’ And I think from there, everything changed.”
Jodie Foster played Iris Steensma, a 12-year-old child prostitute, in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver. Her performance in the movie earned her her first Academy Award nomination under the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on Comingsoon.
