It’s fitting that the name of Jodie Foster’s latest flick is The Brave One. In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the Oscar-winning action heroine laughs in the face of Hollywood stereotypes — and talks about how she forged her own path in the industry. “I can feel a little grossed out by L.A. but, hey, it’s nice to feel superior! Clearly you have to wear a lot of rubber to get through this town,” says the tough and classy Foster in a candid interview with EW. “I make movies with real technicians who wake up at four in the morning and wear Patagonia everything. I don’t make them with wives of executives who have fake lips. I was never the ingénue or the pretty girlfriend of Tom Cruise in a movie. I didn’t have that career, so I don’t have to compete on that level.”

So did she ever want more of a shot at playing the cute get? “No, but there were other things I wanted,” admits Foster. “Like, I got insecure because I made this conscious choice when I was 18 and 19 not to do any of those coming of age devirginization movies, to be a part of any kind of Brat Pack. They were the hot items here in L.A. and I was living in Connecticut and going to college. I knew some of those guys so I did feel like a bit like a loser. ‘What are you guys doing tonight? I’m studying for this French test.’”

Going against the “Pack,” so to speak, is a familiar move for Foster. Case in point, she was actually encouraged to not take the role of Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs — a role that later gave her a second Oscar win. “Everybody was like ‘Why are you going to do that movie? It’s a total second fiddle. Anthony Hopkins got the good part and you are just quick and don’t speak in contradictions. You could do a juicy part!’ I was like, ‘That’s who she is, and that’s how I’m going to play her. I’m not going to try and compete with him.’ And I won an Oscar for that. So much for them second-guessing whose part was better.”

Clearly, Foster’s instinct and choices in movies — both past and present — have never hindered her success. In fact, unlike other child actors, Foster has been able to escape the pitfalls of early stardom. “Everybody tells you as a child actor that by the time you’re 18, it’ll be over, so you need to be prepared,” says Foster. “I knew that. My mom got me real nice and prepared for that. It’s a weird business. It’s a weird thing for a child to be doing. And it’s a really, really weird thing for an adolescent to be doing. When you have pimples and you feel bad about yourself and you’re kind of overweight, you should not be a public figure. That’s just mean.”

But one child star Foster believes is well on her way to carving a similar path as her own — Dakota Fanning, who like Foster (in Taxi Driver) had a graphic rape scene at a tender age in the movie Hounddog. “Taxi Driver was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I didn’t become a weirdo or squawk like a chicken… She [Dakota] is spectacular [with] a brave, brave performance that she should be very, very proud of. That’s why Dakota Fanning is going to end up being a real actress. It was a wonderful movie for her and it’s setting her up to not be a Disney bimbo. I think the [uproar] was just a bunch of Christians who didn’t see the movie.”

Stemming from that last comment, what are Foster’s thoughts on organized religion? “I’m an atheist. But I absolutely love religions, and I love the rituals. Even though I don’t believe in God. Pretty much every religion we celebrate in our family with the kids. They love it and when they say “Are we Jewish?” or “Are we Catholic?” I say “Well, I’m not, but you can choose when you’re 18. But isn’t this fun that we do Seders and advent calendar?”

So how does Foster feel about her Maverick costar Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitic rant last year? “I love him. I knew the minute I met him that he was going to be my friend for the rest of my life. I don’t often feel that way and I certainly never feel that way about actors,” says Foster. “I know Mel extremely well, and anybody who has even remotely met him knows what a severe alcohol problem he’s had his entire life. This is a man who almost died. He’s not some guy who went to rehab because he got a traffic ticket.” 

Entertainment Weekly

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