Jodie Foster Was 'Scared' for Robert Downey Jr. While Working With Him at the Height of His Addiction Battle

Jodie Foster is looking back on working with Robert Downey Jr. during a difficult time in his life.

When the Panic Room actress, 61, was directing the newly minted Oscar winner, 59, in the 1995 Christmas dramedy Home for the Holidays, Foster was highly concerned for Downey Jr. since he was in the throes of addiction.

"I took him [Downey Jr.] aside at one point during filming and said, 'Look, I couldn't be more grateful for what you’ve given in this film,'" the Nyad actress explained. "'But I'm scared of what happens to you next. Right now you are incredibly good at balancing on the barstool. But it's really precarious, and I'm not sure how that’s going to end.'"

The Oppenheimer star has been upfront about his experience working on that particular movie and how he wasn't fully present due to his substance abuse. "The most relaxed performance in the history of cinema," Downey Jr. said during a 2020 appearance on David Letterman's show My Next Guest.

Foster made a point to be honest with the Iron Man star about his on-set behavior. "She was really critical, and just being like, 'Well, looks like you're getting away with it on this one! I wouldn't try this again, because we're kind of a forgiving group,'" he explained.

"I was like, 'Wasn't that last take great?' and she goes, 'Yeah, you're great, it's going great,' and then when I was locked up in a penitentiary, she sent me a letter saying, 'Let me tell you what I meant by, 'It's going great,'" he recalled.

Despite the struggle, Foster knew Downey Jr. was capable of more than his addiction was allowing him to give. "What was so interesting about him then was what a genius he was — there was more creativity in his little finger than I will ever have in my whole life — but he did not have the discipline," she explained.

"He was so out there that all of that wonderful talent was kind of just, like, flailing his arms in the water and making a big mess. But it was in there somewhere, right? Because now he is somebody who's become disciplined almost as a way of surviving," the Taxi Driver alum noted.

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When asked about Downey Jr.'s recollection of events in a 2020 interview, she said, "Well, I guess that's the gist of it, but I don't think that's exactly how that conversation sounded. I love Rob… I'm so proud of him for everything that he is, always was and that he continues to be. He's just a wonderful man."

Downey Jr. has been sober since 2003.

Esquire and Huffington Post conducted the interviews with Foster.