Jodie Foster finds her inner adventurer in South Pacific

Even after spending several months filming on a tropical island, Jodie Foster isn’t immune to the sweltering Tokyo summer. During her visit here last month, the star explained, “this is the first time I’ve ever been to Japan when it was hot.”

Foster’s latest film "Nim’s Island" represents a lot of firsts for the actress. It’s the first time her two sons (aged 6 and 10) have visited Japan, the first time they’ve accompanied her to a premiere, and aside from Disney hits like "Freaky Friday" that Foster, 45, made when she was a child, it’s the first of her films that she has allowed them to watch.

Coming off a recent string of thrillers like "The Brave One," "Flightplan" and "Panic Room," it’s no surprise that Foster’s feelings as a mother are different from her goals as an actress. But this time, the dual Oscar winner said, “I really wanted to make a film that everyone in my family could see.”

In "Nim’s Island," Foster plays Alexandra Rover, a bestselling author of adventure novels who also happens to be agoraphobic, germ-phobic and unable to leave her apartment. Until, that is, she strikes up a correspondence with Nim (Abigail Breslin), a young girl who lives on a South Pacific island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler). When Nim’s father goes missing at sea, Alexandra must find within herself the courage and spirit that she writes about in her books.

The chance to explore a character so different from her usual take-no-prisoners roles was one of the things that attracted Foster to the project. “I wanted to play a character who was scared … who learned to find that heroic side of herself throughout the course of the movie,” she explained.

Another particularly enjoyable aspect of filming, she added, was working with Breslin. Foster, who has also been a movie star since a young age, shares much in common with her 12-year-old co-star and Oscar nominee (for the 2006 film "Little Miss Sunshine"). When asked if she had given Breslin any tips on making it in the movie business, Foster declared, “Abigail needs no advice from me.” Along with the rest of the cast and crew, they formed a sort of “gypsy film family” while on set, she said. “It was fun to watch a child experience the joys of making movies.”

One piece of advice Foster did pass on was a ritual that she’s kept up since she first began acting. “Right before I start a movie, I try to do something that feels like a very big accomplishment,” she said. “Then I feel like I can do anything.”

Foster works hard to bring out this spirit in all her films, and she is drawn to strong, heroic female characters. “Young women aren’t given models of adventurousness. They’re told they can’t take care of themselves.” With "Nim’s Island," Foster said, “I wanted to make a movie about the adventurousness of the human spirit, and not just the male spirit.”

Foster also had a few things to say about being 40-something and — in her case — fabulous. “It’s been said that 40 is the new 18,” she joked. So what’s the secret? “I think what’s exciting about being a woman and being 40 is that … you have a kind of confidence that took all those years to get,” she said. “But you’re still young enough to be excited and to be vital about the future without having to worry about your identity. Am I a mother? Am I smart enough? Am I strong enough?”

This story originally appeared in Metropolis magazine (www.metropolis.co.jp).

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