Hollywood actress Jodie Foster has revisited her formative experience playing 12-year-old sex worker Iris in Martin Scorsese's landmark 1976 film 'Taxi Driver', sharing candid memories at the film's 50th anniversary reunion during the Tribeca Festival in New York. Speaking on Friday at the OKX Theater in lower Manhattan, Foster offered a rare behind-the-scenes window into one of cinema's most debated productions.

The Scene That Left Scorsese and De Niro Speechless

One memory, Foster said, remains 'seared in her memory' — arriving on set to find Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro convulsed in nervous laughter as they attempted to explain a provocative scene to her. The scene required the then-young actress to unzip De Niro's fly, a direction the two men struggled to articulate.

'Marty was trying to explain to me how I was supposed to pull down (Robert De Niro's) fly. They couldn't stop giggling, and Bob's like, “I'm gonna tell her”. He would try to tell me what to do, and then he would start giggling,' Foster recalled. 'They couldn't give me a note because they were just so nervous that I was so young.'

Characteristically unfazed, Foster stepped in and resolved the situation herself. 'And I was like, “Well, you just want me to, okay, fine! First I pull down the fly, then I do this and I walk over there. What's the big deal?”' she said, drawing laughter from the Tribeca audience.

A Precocious Talent That Impressed Scorsese Instantly

According to reports, Foster was just 11 years old and still in her school uniform when she first met Scorsese in his office ahead of his 1974 film 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' — the encounter that set the stage for their later collaboration on 'Taxi Driver'. She had already accumulated eight years of acting experience at that point.

Scorsese recalled her matter-of-fact confidence during that first meeting. 'You just sat down (and said), “Yeah, I can do that. Okay, I got it. No problem”,' he said, mimicking her composure. He added that when he asked what she was doing next, she replied she was working on something 'over at Disney' — a detail that drew warmth from the reunion crowd.

Scorsese's Verdict: Authority Beyond Her Years

'She had an authority, I'm not kidding, an authority. She was really quite supportive, if you could put it that way, because it was a hard shoot,' Scorsese said of Foster. The director's remarks underscored how unusual Foster's presence was for a child actor navigating one of Hollywood's most challenging productions.

The evening also showcased that same self-possession five decades on. When screenwriter Paul Schrader began answering a question without his microphone, Foster politely but directly called him out — prompting Scorsese to quip, 'He might be sitting on it,' one of the night's biggest laughs.

Taxi Driver at 50: A Legacy Still Under the Spotlight

Released in 1976 and directed by Scorsese from a screenplay by Schrader, 'Taxi Driver' remains one of American cinema's most studied and contested works. Foster's portrayal of Iris earned her a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination at the age of 14, making her one of the youngest performers to receive that recognition. The film's 50th anniversary reunion at Tribeca is the first major public gathering of its key collaborators in years, and the candid recollections shared on Friday signal that its legacy is far from settled.