Jodie Foster Turned Down Playing a 14-Year-Old Princess Leia in ‘Star Wars’

James Hibberd
·1-min read

Jodie Foster confirmed she was once offered the iconic Star Wars role of Princess Leia in the late 1970s.

The Oscar winner discussed the opportunity on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday.

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“You’ve been in so many iconic roles, and we love what you do,” Fallon said. “But I saw this on the internet — you were offered the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, is that true?”

Replied Foster: “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.”

Casting Foster would have likely significantly changed the role. Foster would have been just 13 and 14 years old during the years the original Star Wars was filmed, and then 15 when the movie was released in 1977. The role was, of course, played by Carrie Fisher, who was 19 during filming.

“And they did an amazing job,” Foster continued. “I don’t know how good I would have been. I might have had different hair. I might have gone with a pineapple” (jokingly referring to the character’s famous Danish pastry hairstyle).

Foster didn’t say what that Disney film was, but it might have been the hit Freaky Friday, which was released in 1976. Foster was quite busy around that time, appearing in four other movies that same year — including her acclaimed dramatic role in Taxi Driver.

The actress is still busy today. She’s currently starring in HBO’s crime drama True Detective: Night Country, and recently co-starred in the open water swimming biopic Nyad.

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