Jodie Foster

AN early scene in Hotel Artemis (July 26) features the face of the woman known to most as The Nurse. It’s a face etched with deep furrows of despair, loss, frustration and pain. Time has been so brutal to this face that for a few moments it’s impossible to recognise Jodie Foster. The actor/director transformed herself to look like the kind of disgraced health care provider who would be running a medical treatment facility for thugs and gangsters on the floor of a downtown Los Angeles hotel in the year 2028. Even with two Oscars to her credit, getting the worldweary look she wanted for the role wasn’t easy for Foster. “I really wanted to make a physical transformation, and this would be a different character than you would normally see me,” Foster says. “I thought that was important, but I had to fight for that a lot during the production. It was not as popular as you might think.” Hotel Artemis is the first time the 55-year-old has stepped in front of the camera since appearing in 2013’s Elysium, and only her sixth film role in a decade. Foster has found more pleasure in working behind the camera, directing such productions as The Beaver and Money Monster. She’s not turned her back on acting, but the role has to be interesting enough for her to be willing to say yes. “I was directing a lot and had made the decision I wanted to focus on that as my full-time job. If something came along that was great, then I would do it. I think that is how it’s going to work now for acting. There’s something great about how, after giving 52 years as an actor, to be able to say I just want to do it if I love it.” – Rick Bentley/Tribune News Service