NEW YORK \u2212 Jodie Foster<\/a> is saying bonjour to New York Film Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Oscar-winning actress, 62, stopped by the festival on Oct. 5 for a screening of “A Private Life,” a French mystery that marks a career-first for her.<\/p>\n Foster is fluent in French and even went to a French prep school. But “A Private Life” is the first time she has taken on the lead role in a French-language film.<\/p>\n “It’s something I wanted to do for a long time,” she said in a Q&A after the screening. “I’ve made a few French films, but never with this much dialogue and in a starring role. … I finally found the right role, the right script and the right director.”<\/p>\n Join our Watch Party! <\/strong>SIgn up to receive USA TODAY’s movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Jodie Foster attends the red carpet for “A Private Life” during the 63rd New York Film Festival on Oct. 5, 2025, in New York City.<\/p>\n Foster stars as a psychiatrist who comes to believe that her patient who supposedly died by suicide was actually murdered. She begins trying to piece together the mystery while working through her relationship with her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil). The New York screening took place after the film previously premiered at Cannes Film Festival<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n Despite being fluent in French for most of her life, the “Silence of the Lambs” star was anxious about taking on the part.<\/p>\n “I was nervous,” she shared. “I kept telling (director Rebecca Zlotowski), ‘I’m a little scared.’ So I came three weeks ahead of time just to be in the city and not talk to any American friends, and only speak to French people. I think that was helpful.”<\/p>\n ‘Please don’t hire me’: <\/strong>Conan O’Brien breaks down his dramatic acting debut<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Jodie Foster speaks at a screening of “A Private Life” during the 63rd New York Film Festival on Oct. 5, 2025, in New York City.<\/p>\n Foster speaks almost entirely in French from beginning to end in the film, albeit with one or two English sentences \u2212 and curse words \u2212 thrown into the mix. “Rebecca had to put in a few little Anglicisms, a (few) little American things here and there,” she said. The festival crowd applauded for Foster after the director and Q&A moderator complimented her French in the movie.<\/p>\n Foster also highlighted a few key differences between working on a French and an American movie set.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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