Jodie Foster Reveals Why She Turned Down Playing Princess Leia in Star Wars
When she was a teenager, Jodie Foster was offered the iconic role of Princess Leia, but the future Oscar winner turned it down.
Jodie Foster recently went on a talk show, where she confirmed that she had, indeed, been offered the role of Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars: A New Hope, but the Academy Award-winning actress explained that she had to turn it down. Foster also fantasized about how her version of Leia might have been different.
Foster’s near-involvement in Star Wars was revealed during her appearance on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “You’ve been in so many iconic roles, and we love what you do,” the host said. “But I saw this on the internet — you were offered the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, is that true?”
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, in Star Wars Episode IV
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Foster replied, “Yeah. I was, yeah. They were going for a younger Princess Leia but I had a conflict. I was doing a Disney movie and I just didn’t want to pull out of the Disney movie because I was already under contract. So I didn’t do it. And they did an amazing job. I don’t know how good I would have been.”
Jodie Foster May Have Chosen Freaky Friday Over Star Wars
Though Foster does not explicitly mention which film she was doing with Disney at the time, based on the timeline, it seems most likely that it would have been the original Freaky Friday from 1976. The casting of Foster as Princess Leia would have dramatically changed the role. Carrie Fisher, who ended up playing the role to great acclaim, was 19 at the time of filming. On the other hand, Foster was only 14, and would have been 15 at the time of the film’s release in 1977.
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Although an actress of Foster’s caliber – even as a teenager her roles in films like Taxi Driver were praised – would have undoubtedly been great as Princess Leia, time has proven Carrie Fisher as the perfect casting choice. Her portrayal of Princess Leia Organa is iconic and beloved by fans of the franchise. So much so that the legacy of her character lives on in new Star Wars projects such as Disney+’s TV show Ahsoka. Leia also appears as a child in Obi-Wan Kenobi, where she is portrayed by Vivien Lyra Blair.
Despite missing an opportunity to appear in Star Wars, Jodie Foster went on to have a very successful career. In Silence of the Lambs, she played Clarice Sterling, a young FBI agent in training that visits Dr. Hannibal Lecter for advice on a case. In The Accused, she plays Sarah Tobias, a waitress who is the victim of a horrible crime around which the film is centered. Both of these roles earned Foster Academy Awards for Best Actress.
The actress is still active, currently starring in True Detective: Night Country which is available for streaming on Max.
