BY Harshit | October 6, 2025 | 1:30 AM EDT | New York, NY
NEW YORK — Jodie Foster is taking her talents overseas — without leaving the city. The Oscar-winning actress, 62, made a remarkable French-language lead debut at the 63rd New York Film Festival on Oct. 5 with the screening of A Private Life, a mystery marking her first starring role entirely in French.
Fluent in French since childhood and a former student at a French prep school, Foster has dabbled in French films before, but never with this much dialogue or as a lead.
“It’s something I wanted to do for a long time,” Foster said during the Q&A following the screening. “I’ve made a few French films, but never with this much dialogue and in a starring role. … I finally found the right role, the right script, and the right director.”
A Private Life and Jodie Foster French Debut
In A Private Life, Foster plays a psychiatrist who suspects that a patient, previously believed to have died by suicide, may have been murdered. Her investigation unfolds alongside her complex relationship with her ex-husband, Gabriel, portrayed by Daniel Auteuil. The film premiered at Cannes in May before making its U.S. debut at NYFF.
Despite her fluency, Foster admitted she was nervous about performing entirely in French. “I kept telling [director Rebecca Zlotowski], ‘I’m a little scared.’ So I came three weeks ahead of time just to be in the city and not talk to any American friends, and only speak to French people. I think that was helpful,” she said.
The audience applauded Foster’s mastery of the language. While almost all lines are in French, the script includes occasional English phrases and curse words. “Rebecca had to put in a few little Anglicisms, a few little American things here and there,” Foster noted. “Those touches enhanced the film’s authenticity.”
Cultural Contrasts and Jodie Foster French Debut Experience
Foster highlighted differences between French and American film productions.
“The crews are smaller [in France], and people overlap and do lots of jobs,” she explained. “That’s not something we do in America. In the U.S., even on a tiny movie, everybody has kind of a specific job. But in the French world, no.”
Director Zlotowski personally decorated the set and lent Foster a coat for a scene. “She gave me her clothes to wear, which I was like, ‘We don’t do this in America,’” Foster recalled with a laugh.
Filming inside a real, working French elevator posed another challenge. “I’ve made a lot of scenes in elevators, but not real ones,” Foster said. “Not real, tiny little French elevators.” The tight space added tension and authenticity, enhancing her French debut performance.
A Career-Spanning Achievement
Foster’s French-language lead role demonstrates her career-long dedication to challenging herself. Known for The Silence of the Lambs, Taxi Driver, and Contact, she seeks roles that push her craft boundaries.
A Private Life merges her linguistic skills with complex character exploration. Her immersion in French culture on set reflects the meticulous preparation and respect she brings to every role.
For fans and cinephiles, Foster’s French debut at NYFF offers a rare glimpse of an actor venturing beyond Hollywood while retaining the depth and intensity that define her career.
