Actor Jodie Foster credits her early rise to stardom for shielding her from sexual misconduct, an issue that has long plagued Hollywood. ​In a recent interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, the two-time Oscar winner revealed that her 1977 Academy Award nomination for Taxi Driver effectively ‘saved’ her from industry predators. Foster, who played a sex worker in the Martin Scorsese directorial, opposite Robert De Niro, argued that the industry power she amassed by age 12 made her “too dangerous to touch”.

Foster believes her professional status protected her from the "terrible experiences" many of her peers faced. “I was part of a different category of people that had power,” she said before adding, “I could’ve ruined people’s careers... so I wasn’t on the block.”

While she escaped major trauma, Foster noted that she still encountered the standard “misogynist microaggressions” common to any woman in the workplace.

Beyond her career status, Foster cited her guarded emotional nature as a deterrent to predators. She explained that predators often target and exploit younger, more vulnerable people, but her tendency to keep her emotions off the surface made her difficult to manipulate.

Interestingly, Jodie Foster also credited her profession with building a strong sense of resilience that has helped keep her safe from predators. The actor noted that the emotional control required for the profession helped her maintain a stronger presence in her personal life as well.

​Foster’s career rose following her early success.

She eventually secured Oscar awards for her roles in The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), respectively.