Jodie Foster recalls being 'scared' for Robert Downey Jr. during his 'precarious' addiction struggles

"I'm not sure how that's going to end," Foster told Downey of his "balancing" act while they were working on the 1995 film "Home for the Holidays."

Back in the mid-'90s, Jodie Foster cast Robert Downey Jr. in her second film as a director at a time when he was struggling with addiction — and looking back, she says she was concerned for the actor's safety.

In a new Esquire profile on the Oppenheimer star, Foster recalled giving candid advice to Downey while working on their 1995 Christmas dramedy Home for the Holidays. "I took him aside at one point during filming and said, 'Look, I couldn't be more grateful for what you’ve given in this film,'" she said. "'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.'"

Downey has spoken before about his demeanor on Home for the Holidays. During a 2020 episode of David Letterman's My Next Guest, he called his turn in the film "the most relaxed performance in the history of cinema" due to his substance abuse at the time of production.

"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,'" Downey recalled Foster telling him about coming to set while inebriated. "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."'"

Foster later told The Huffington Post, "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."

Speaking to Esquire, Foster said that Downey's skills as an actor were always clear, but he didn't always apply his talents to the best of his ability.

"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 said. "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."

Foster added, "I have faith in people's ability to change if they want it, and he really wanted it."

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