Jodie Foster Turned Down Role of Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars’
Jodie Foster is opening up about a major role she turned down during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. On Wednesday (January 17), Fallon asked the actress and filmmaker, 61, about a role she turned down. After telling the Silence of the Lambs star how she has played “so many iconic roles,” Fallon asked if it was true that she was offered the iconic role of Princess Leia in George Lucas’ brilliant 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
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Coolly, Foster replied, “I was, yeah.” At that time, Foster would have been about 15 years old. She revealed the production team was “going for a younger Princess Leia,” but she had a scheduling conflict. The award-winning actress was doing a Disney movie that she didn’t and couldn’t pull out of because she was under contract. The film was Candleshoe — one of three movies she was in that year. The other two films were French film Moi, fleur bleue (known in English as Stop Calling Me Baby!) and Beach House. “So, I didn’t do it, and you know, they did an amazing job,” she said of the role that went to the late Carrie Fisher. Foster jokingly added, “I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair, you know.” Referring to the princess’ infamous double-bun hairstyle, she added, “I might have gone with a pineapple.”
Watch Jodie Foster’s Tonight Show appearance below:
Jodie Foster began her career when she was just two years old. She appeared in commercials before making her acting debut in 1968 in the television series Mayberry R.F.D. She was a teen idol, starring in multiple Disney films, such as Napoleon and Samantha and Freaky Friday. Then, she had her breakthrough role as the prostitute Iris Steensma in 1976’s Taxi Driver.
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