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.

Source: MegaJodie Foster directed Robert Downey Jr. in the 1995 film ‘Home for the Holidays.’

“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.

Source: MegaJodie Foster was ‘scared’ for Robert Downey Jr. at the height of his addiction.

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.