Jodie Foster was almost Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars’

Jodie Foster’s 2023 kicked off in high gear. The actress has been busy attending awards show for her critically acclaimed performance in the film “Nyad,” and is now promoting her new TV show, “True Detective: Night Country.” She’s an actress with an illustrious career, one that’s seen her take on many roles. One of them could have been Princess Leia, one of the most iconic characters of all time.

In an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Foster discussed her missed opportunity. “They were going for a younger Princess Leia and I had a conflict. I was doing a DIsney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of it because I already had a contract,” she explained. “They did an amazing job. I don’t know how good I would’ve been,” she said with a smile. “I might have had a different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple.”

Foster also discussed her new TV show, “True Detective,” and shared how excited she is to be involved with it. “It was an easy yes. But you never know. I met with the director, Issa Lopez, who’s the showrunner and wrote all of the episodes, and she just had such an incredible vision for the show that I just... couldn’t do anything but jump onboard,” she said. Foster revealed that, once she was brought onboard to the series, she made some changes to her role. “She really is awful. We call her Alaska Karen,” she said, prompting laughs from the audience.

Foster was accompanied by her son

At the beginning of her interview, Foster revealed she was accompanied by her eldest son, Charlie. The 25 year old is her and her former partner Cydney Bernard’s son, with Foster praising his creativity and intelligence on the rare occasions when she’s discussed her personal life.

In conversation with More Magazine, Foster revealed that Charlie was interested in filmmaking. Still, she made it clear to him that she wasn’t going to make things easier for him just because she’s one of the world’s best actresses. “[He’ll say] ‘I want to be in movies. Why can’t you get me a job?’ Then I say, ‘You have to earn that. If you want to be an actor, you can start by doing a little theater.’ Then he says, ‘I’m not interested in that. I just want to be famous and see my face.’”