Interview: Jodie Foster talks ‘The Mauritanian’ and where she keeps her Oscars

When you’re putting together a list of the greatest actresses of all time it doesn’t exist without Jodie Foster. 

As one of the few Hollywood child stars that flourished rather than burned out, Foster rose quickly from her television roots like The Courtship of Eddie’s Father and ABC Afterschool Specials to exploding onscreen with 1976’s Taxi Driver, playing a teen prostitute and earning her first of four Oscar nominations. She followed that up with teen-friendly fare like Bugsy Malone (1976) and Candleshoe (1977) before moving into more adult territory with 1980’s Carny and Foxes. 

Determined to not let her film career sideline her education, she entered Yale University as an undergraduate in 1980. She majored in literature, writing her thesis on Toni Morrison under the guidance of Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and graduated magna cum laude in 1985, all while still working in films.

After struggling to find her footing back in the film world, Foster landed The Accused, which would win her her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1989. She also had the director bug, having helmed two episodes of television in the late 80s. Little Man Tate became her feature directorial debut in 1991, the same year as Silence of the Lambs, the Best Picture Oscar winner that won her her second Best Actress Oscar and is to this day the film she’s most known for. 

Her latest project, The Mauritanian, the story of Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who fights for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the U.S. Government for years, is generating plenty of buzz due to her performance as international criminal defense lawyer Nancy Hollander. Could another nomination be in Foster’s future? AwardsWatch contributor Dewey Singleton got a chance to speak to the two-time Oscar winner about her role in the film, what stories inspire her, and where she keeps those Oscars. 

The Mauritanian hits select theaters and On Demand February 19, 2021 from STX Films.

Image credit: Graham Bartholomew / STX