The Total Film Interview - Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster loves France, so it’s very appropriate Total Film’s meeting her in Paris to discuss her new thriller and a career that’s spanned four decades since she was first cast in an ad for suntan-lotion at the tender age of three. “I like walking around the city and writing letters in cafés,” says Foster, who’s owned an apartment here since she was 15 and speaks the language like a native. “There’s a part of me that can escape who I am when I come here.” No need for escape today: Foster’s in a buoyant mood and for good reason. Flightplan, her first film since David Fincher’s Panic Room (a French-speaking cameo in A Very Long Engagement aside), has defied expectations by opening at the top of the US box office, proving once again that despite her infrequent screen forays, the 42-year-old actress still has a dedicated following. Audiences get a buzz watching Foster launch into a steel-jawed, action-woman frenzy.

“Every film I do, even though it may not relate to me autobiographically, I have some very personal fault in there,” says Foster, who radiates intelligence from her smart-person glasses to her insightful replies. “I don’t know that I’m a very brave person, even though I play brave characters. Films are a safe way for me to find the brave part of myself and keep in touch with it.”

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.