Even after a legendary career spanning five decades, Jodie Foster can still get nervous about a role.

At 62, the two-time Academy Award winner revealed during the New York Film Festival that she was “scared” to take on her first-ever French-language starring role in A Private Life, a mystery thriller that premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival.

Though fluent in French and educated at a French prep school, Foster said she had never before carried an entire film in the language. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” she told the audience during a Q&A after the screening.

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“I’ve made a few French films, but never with this much dialogue — and never as the lead,” she said. “I finally found the right role, the right script, and the right director.”

The film that made Jodie Foster face her fears

A Private Life, directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski, follows a psychiatrist (played by Foster) who becomes convinced that one of her patients — believed to have died by suicide — was actually murdered.

As she digs deeper into the mystery, her personal life unravels, particularly her strained relationship with her ex-husband Gabriel, played by French screen legend Daniel Auteuil.

The role demanded not only linguistic precision but also emotional vulnerability — both in a language Foster has long loved but never performed in so extensively.

“I was nervous,” Foster admitted. “I kept telling Rebecca, ‘I’m a little scared.’ So I came three weeks ahead of time just to live in the city and not talk to any American friends — only French people. I think that was helpful.”

A lifelong love affair with the French language

Foster’s connection with French culture runs deep. As a child prodigy who began acting at age six, she attended the prestigious Lycée Français de Los Angeles, where she became fluent in French. Over the years, she’s charmed French audiences not just through her work but also through interviews entirely conducted in their language.

In fact, many French fans already consider her an honorary citizen. Her earlier films like Contact and The Silence of the Lambs were major hits in France, but A Private Life marks the first time she has performed entirely in French for a starring role.

“I always felt like there was this part of me that belonged to French culture,” Foster said. “It’s not just the language — it’s the rhythm, the emotion, the subtlety. I’ve always wanted to express myself fully in French, and now I finally could.”

Critical acclaim and emotional connection

After its debut at Cannes, A Private Life received glowing reviews, with critics praising Foster’s natural fluency and emotional depth. French newspaper Le Monde described her performance as “beautifully restrained yet devastating,” calling it “a triumph of cultural duality.”

At the New York Film Festival, Foster’s fans were equally enthusiastic. Many attendees gave the film a standing ovation, highlighting her ability to make the language feel effortless.

“Even if you didn’t speak French, you could feel every word she said,” one festival-goer told Daily Global Diary.

Foster’s evolution — from Hollywood icon to international storyteller

From her unforgettable portrayal of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs to her nuanced work in The Mauritanian and Nyad, Foster has built a reputation as an actress who seeks meaning over fame.

In A Private Life, she channels that same intelligence and complexity — only this time, through the cadence of another language.

“It’s not just about being bilingual,” she explained. “It’s about feeling — about understanding how people think and express pain differently across cultures.”

A powerful partnership behind the camera

Director Rebecca Zlotowski, known for her films An Easy Girl and Planetarium, said working with Foster was “a dream and a challenge.”

“Jodie brought such discipline and humility to the set,” Zlotowski said in an interview with Variety. “She’s a perfectionist, but also deeply empathetic. There were moments on set when everyone just stopped to watch her — she made the French language her own.”

Why this role matters

For Foster, A Private Life represents more than just another milestone — it’s a celebration of growth, curiosity, and courage. Even after 50 years in film, she’s still finding new ways to challenge herself.

“I wanted to do something that scared me,” she confessed with a smile. “I’ve lived most of my life between two cultures, and this film finally allowed me to bring them together. It’s the most personal thing I’ve ever done.”

What’s next for Jodie Foster?

Following A Private Life, Foster is reportedly considering directing another feature — possibly a multilingual project that blends French and English storytelling. She’s also expected to continue her advocacy for global filmmaking diversity, something she has championed throughout her career.

Whether on-screen or behind the camera, Jodie Foster continues to redefine what it means to be a fearless artist.

And now, after conquering Hollywood — she’s conquered Paris, too.

The fall TV season just got darker — and more fascinating — as Charlie Hunnam steps into one of the most unsettling roles of his career: portraying infamous serial killer Ed Gein in the latest season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s anthology crime series, Monster.

Following the global success of Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, this new chapter titled Monster: The Story of Ed Gein revisits the 1950s Wisconsin murderer whose real-life crimes inspired some of Hollywood’s most iconic horror villains — from Norman Bates in Psycho to Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs.

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But Hunnam says his portrayal is not meant to sensationalize Gein’s gruesome acts — it’s meant to understand them.

“I read every single book that had been written about him — and there were a lot of books,” Hunnam told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s New York City premiere. “I read all of the court transcriptions, all of his medical records. And then I read the scripts over and over to understand what would drive a human being to do some of the pretty wild things he did — pretty despicable acts.”

“We were serious about understanding the man — not glamorizing him”

Hunnam, known globally for his role as Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy, admitted that embodying Gein took an emotional toll.

“We were really very serious about trying to understand the man and not just sensationalize this, and certainly not glamorize it at all,” he said.

The 44-year-old actor emphasized that the goal wasn’t to turn Gein into a cinematic monster, but rather to explore the psychological decay that led him there — a story, Hunnam says, about “mental health and the consequences of abuse and isolation.”

Gein, a reclusive farmer, was convicted of multiple murders and grave robberies in the 1950s. His shocking crimes — which included exhuming corpses and crafting household items and clothing from human skin — have haunted American culture for decades.

In portraying such a figure, Hunnam said he had to “disconnect from judgment” and instead focus on the environment that shaped him.

“This was about asking how trauma, isolation, and untreated illness can create something tragic and monstrous,” he explained.

Sarah Paulson’s surprising advice

Interestingly, Hunnam didn’t reach out to Evan Peters — who won an Emmy Award for playing Jeffrey Dahmer in the first Monster season — for advice.

“I’ve never met Evan Peters. I’m an enormous fan of his work. I would love to get to meet him, but I never had an opportunity to,” Hunnam said.

Instead, he turned to another of Ryan Murphy’s regular collaborators: Sarah Paulson, his longtime friend and star of American Horror Story.

“I bumped into Sarah Paulson, who’s worked with Ryan Murphy a lot and tackled some pretty dark characters, and she’s an old friend of mine,” he said. “So I asked her advice about navigating it and she was really kind. She basically said, ‘Challenge yourself. Don’t be afraid. It’s inside you, just look deep and find it.’”

That advice, Hunnam said, gave him the courage to dive fully into the role — even when it became emotionally draining.

Inside Ryan Murphy’s new “Monster” season

The Monster anthology, produced by Netflix and co-created by Murphy and Brennan, aims to explore the psychology of real-life figures who shocked the world.

This new season, however, departs from Dahmer’s urban modern horror to the bleak, rural terror of 1950s America. Shot across eerie Midwestern landscapes, Monster: The Story of Ed Gein reportedly leans less on gore and more on psychological dread — exploring how Gein’s twisted obsession with his mother and his isolated upbringing in Plainfield, Wisconsin, led to his horrific crimes.

Hunnam’s transformation into Gein required months of research, both psychological and physical. Insiders from the production note that the actor adopted Gein’s posture, rural accent, and eerie mannerisms, while spending time in isolation to understand the killer’s mental state.

“Charlie completely disappears into the role,” said one of the producers during the premiere. “He approached it with empathy, not sympathy — and that’s a hard line to walk.”

A balance between horror and humanity

For Hunnam, Monster: The Story of Ed Gein isn’t just another dark drama — it’s a meditation on how society overlooks mental illness until it turns catastrophic.

“We’ve seen the sensationalized versions of Ed Gein in movies for decades,” he said. “But this series looks at what made him — how someone so isolated, traumatized, and untreated could become a reflection of the darker parts of all of us.”

It’s a perspective that mirrors Murphy’s long-standing fascination with human fragility, trauma, and morality — themes that have made his shows like American Horror Story, Ratched, and Feud both horrifying and thought-provoking.

As the series debuts, audiences can expect both a haunting crime story and a chilling character study — one that might force viewers to look beyond the monster and into the broken mind that created him.

In a heartfelt public statement, Jessica Kirson — one of the most respected LGBTQ+ comedians in America — expressed “sincere regret” for performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its strict laws against homosexuality and suppression of free expression.

Kirson, who has long been celebrated for her candid, emotionally honest comedy, was among more than 50 international comedians who took part in what Saudi officials have billed as “the world’s largest comedy festival.” The event, held from September 26 to October 9, featured top-tier names like Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Aziz Ansari, and Pete Davidson.

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However, the lineup quickly drew backlash from human rights advocates and fellow comedians who accused participants of legitimizing a government that continues to persecute women, the LGBTQ+ community, and journalists.

A performance that divided her fans

In a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter, Kirson admitted she initially saw the festival as an opportunity to make a difference — not a political statement.

“I requested a guarantee that I could be openly out as a lesbian on stage and perform gay material,” Kirson said. “I hoped that this could help LGBTQ+ people in Saudi Arabia feel seen and valued.”

She added that she was “surprised” by the invitation but chose to accept after receiving confirmation that she could speak freely about her identity.

“I am grateful that I was able to do precisely that — to my knowledge, I am the first openly gay comic to talk about it on stage in Saudi Arabia,” she continued. “I received messages from attendees sharing how much it meant to them to participate in a gay-affirming event.”

Still, Kirson said that her decision came with unintended consequences.

“At the same time, I deeply regret participating under the auspices of the Saudi government.”

Facing outrage from her own community

Kirson’s participation sparked outrage among her fans and LGBTQ+ advocates who accused her of performing for a “repressive regime.”

On Instagram, where she has nearly one million followers, the comedian’s comment section quickly filled with disappointment and anger.

“You really sold out… I’m super sad about this,” one follower wrote.
“Still waiting for the explanation behind your terrible decision to accept money from a horrible regime,” another added.

Many critics pointed to Saudi Arabia’s well-documented human rights record, including its criminalization of homosexuality, severe restrictions on free speech, and history of violence against dissenting journalists — most infamously the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

“I will take full responsibility for my actions”

In her statement, Kirson offered a direct apology to her fans and the LGBTQ+ community, acknowledging that her choice caused pain and disappointment.

“I have a special relationship with my fans because of the vulnerable nature of my comedy and the trust they place in me as part of the queer community,” she said.
“To my fans: I see you. I hear you. Your voice matters to me. I love you all, and I am genuinely sorry for making a poor decision that had repercussions I didn’t fully consider.”

Kirson also revealed that she will donate the entirety of her performance fee to a human rights organization, though she did not specify which group.

“I will take full responsibility for my actions and dedicate myself to making amends, so that my words and choices reflect the respect and care you deserve,” she concluded.

A growing rift in the comedy world

The Riyadh Comedy Festival has become a flashpoint for ethical debate in the entertainment industry.

Comedians like Marc Maron, David Cross, and Atsuko Okatsuka publicly criticized the event. Cross condemned Saudi Arabia’s “oppressive regime” and its treatment of minorities, while Okatsuka — who declined the festival’s invitation — went a step further, posting excerpts of the festival’s contract online.

The leaked clause reportedly forbade performers from criticizing “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its leadership, or its culture,” or from making any remarks that could be perceived as “degrading” to the Saudi royal family or any religion.

That revelation only deepened public skepticism about whether participants like Kirson truly had creative freedom.

A lesson in visibility and accountability

While Kirson’s decision has reignited conversations about the moral responsibilities of artists performing abroad, some fans and fellow comics have praised her willingness to admit fault.

“Jessica did what few comedians ever do — she took accountability,” wrote one fan on X. “That’s more than we can say for many others who performed there.”

Kirson’s apology underscores a larger dilemma facing entertainers: how to balance opportunities for representation and inclusion with the ethical implications of where — and for whom — they perform.

As she continues to navigate the fallout, Jessica Kirson’s story serves as a reminder that even acts done with good intentions can spark difficult, necessary conversations about conscience, visibility, and the price of performance.