TAXI DRIVER : JODIE FOSTER

“I understand [that de Niro and Scorsese were scared of me],” Jodie Foster told Jimmy Kimmel on his late night show when recalling making Taxi Driver. She told The Hollywood Reporter: "Scorsese especially, who kept giggling every time he talked to me. He’d start giggling and De Niro had to take over,” she noted. “I was 12. And they had to say things like, 'you know, Can you pull his fly down?’ And it was a little awkward.”

Foster has recently opened up about her experience, marking Taxi driver's 40th anniversary. She was cast after working on another Martin Scorsese film, Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, despite her mother's initial skepticism about Scorsese's vision for the role of an underage prostitute.

“He called my mom about the part, and she thought he was crazy. But I went in to meet him for an interview. My mom thought, with my school uniform on, there was no way he’d think I was right for it. But he said yes, and she trusted him.”

To ensure her comfort, adult stand-ins were used for sensitive scenes, including her sister, who stood in for certain shots. “Part of the deal was that any scenes that felt uncomfortable sexually, they would have an adult be a stand-in,” says Foster. “So my sister Connie, who was over 18, stood in for a couple of over-the-shoulder shots.”

Foster found the film's intense subject matter and De Niro's immersive method acting different from her previous experiences.

 
“Robert De Niro and I had a bunch of outings, where he took me to different diners around town and walked through the script with me,” she says of their preparation.

“After the first time, I was completely bored. Robert was pretty socially awkward then and was pretty much in character, which was his process. I think I rolled my eyes at times because he really was awkward. But in those few outings, he really helped me understand improvisation and building a character in a way that was almost nonverbal.”

Foster also described the influence of a young woman named Garth Avery, who inspired her character, Iris, and who appeared in the film. “She plays the girl who stands next to me in the street in the movie. I talked to her a little bit, but they were more interested in her mannerisms, how she dressed and walked.
"I hated my costumes, though. At the fitting, I was sniffing back tears because I had to wear those dumb shorts, platform shoes and halter tops. It was everything I hated. I was a tomboy who wore knee socks. But I got over it.”

via Top 10 Films

BONUS: I met Jodie Foster once. She was a fierce delight.