Jodie Foster Didn't Tell Her Kids She Was An Actor, And Here's The Reason Why

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Jodie Foster revealed why she kept her acting career from her children, and the reason makes a lot of sense.

Closeup of Jodie Foster
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The 61-year-old two-time Academy Award winner has played many roles throughout her career, which spans almost six decades.

Side-by-side of Jodie in 1976 and now
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She was a teen prostitute in Taxi Driver, which earned her first Academy nomination.

Jodie sitting at a diner with Robert De Niro in a scene from "Taxi Driver"
Courtesy Everett Collection

She was a tenacious FBI agent in The Silence of the Lambs.

Jodie holding up her FBI badge in a scene from "The Silence of the Lambs"
Orion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

And now, she's detective Liz Danvers in the newest season of True Detective: Night Country.

Jodie watching something on a phone with headphones in her ears in a scene from "True Detective"
Michele K. Short/HBO

But, outside of the many characters she plays on TV and in movies, she's just mom to Charles "Charlie" Bernard Foster, 25, and Christopher "Kit" Bernard Foster, 22.

Jodie Foster with her sons at the Golden Globes
Paul Drinkwater / NBC

In her very first appearance on The View, Jodie reflected on her career and explained why, for the longest time, her children didn't know anything about her acting career and her iconic characters.

Closeup of Jodie Foster on the red carpet
Lionel Hahn / Getty Images

"I guess I just didn't want them to know me that way," she said.

closeup of Jodie Foster
ABC

"I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who went away to work and stuff. I just didn't want them to be confused about what I did for a living."

Closeup of Jodie Foster
ABC

Jodie revealed that she convinced her oldest, Charlie, she was a construction worker. "I brought him to set one day and bought him a little plastic tool belt and stuff."

Screenshot from "The View"
ABC

She continued, "And I was like, 'Yeah, and this is this set and this set and this set.' And for a really long time, he thought I was a construction worker."

Closeup of Jodie Foster
ABC

The Nyad actor admitted now Charlie and Kit realize their mom is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but they still "have no interest in watching my movies with me."

Screenshot from "Nyad"
Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

1994's Nell, one of my favorite movies that earned Jodie another Academy Award nomination, is one of the "few films that [she] would never show them because [she] would be worried about being teased."

Screenshot from "Nell"
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / courtesy Everett Collection

“They do tease me often about [Nell], even though they’ve never seen the movie," she said.

Closeup of Jodie Foster
ABC

“I think they’re going to catch True Detective ’cause they’re really into that.”

Screenshot from "True Detective"
Michele K. Short/HBO

On that note, I'm going to watch True Detective, too. Whether she's an FBI agent, a fake construction worker, or just a mom — Jodie Foster is always a legend.

Jodie Foster holding her Emmy award
Monica Schipper / WireImage

Check out Jodie Foster on The View here:

True Detective: Night Country is now streaming on Max.