Jodie Foster explains why she turned down the role of Princess Leia

Last Updated on January 24, 2024

Jodie Foster has been around in the business long enough that she says that when she did Taxi Driver, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro were intimidated by her experience. The True Detective actress not only made movies as a young star, but she would partake in daring roles like The Accused and The Hotel New Hampshire. However, as a teen actress, Foster would also be known for being in films like Freaky Friday. In the 70s, a little film titled Star Wars came around, and Foster was said to have been offered the role of Princess Leia, which ultimately went to Carrie Fisher.

Foster had turned down the opportunity to take part in George Lucas’ space opera. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Foster has finally addressed why she passed on the future iconic role. While promoting True Detective: Night Country, Foster appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon where Jimmy asked Jodie, “You’ve been in so many iconic roles, and we love what you do. But I saw this on the internet — you were offered the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, is that true?” Foster responded, “I was, yeah. They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract.” Then Foster when on to joke about Princess Leia’s famous cinnamon roll-shaped hair style, “I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple.”

The seasoned vet is almost as critical of modern day franchise cinema as Scorsese and Coppola are, except she claims to still enjoy superhero films despite thinking they’ve gone on too long. Foster would call superhero films a phase, stating, “It’s a phase. It’s a phase that’s lasted a little too long for me, but it’s a phase, and I’ve seen so many different phases. Hopefully people will be sick of it soon. The good ones—like Iron Man, Black Panther, The Matrix—I marvel at those movies, and I’m swept up in the entertainment of it, but that’s not why I became an actor. And those movies don’t change my life. Hopefully there’ll be room for everything else.”