Jodie Foster: Gen Z can be ‘really annoying’ to work with
Oscar-winning actor Jodie Foster has expressed her view that working with Generation Z can be challenging, describing them as “really annoying.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Foster mentioned encountering attitudes towards work that she found difficult to comprehend, citing instances where individuals would casually express reluctance to start work early.
Despite her general observation, Foster did commend 20-year-old Gen Z star Bella Ramsey as an exemplar of emerging authenticity in the acting realm.
Reflecting on her own experiences as a child star and the challenges of growing up in the industry, Foster acknowledged her inclination to assist young actors in finding their way.
In jest, Foster remarked that, in general, dealing with Generation Z, a term encompassing those born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, can be particularly vexing, especially in a professional setting.
“They’re like: ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am.’
“Or, like, in emails, I’ll tell them this is all grammatically incorrect, did you not check your spelling?
“And they’re like, ‘Why would I do that, isn’t that kind of limiting?'”
Speaking about the advice she’d give to young people in the industry, she said: “They need to learn how to relax, how to not think about it so much, how to come up with something that’s theirs.
“I can help them find that, which is so much more fun than being, with all the pressure behind it, the protagonist of the story.”
Foster singled out British actor Ramsey for praise, recalling how she first met The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star at Elle’s Women in Hollywood celebration.
Foster described it as a “wonderful event” but noted that all of the attendees were “wearing heels and eyelashes”.
“There are other ways of being a woman, and it’s really important for people to see that. And Bella, who gave the best speech, was wearing the most perfect suit, beautifully tailored, and a middle parting and no makeup.”
Foster added that when she was young she would not have been able to dress like Ramsey in a suit and no make-up at a showbiz event.
“Because we weren’t free. Because we didn’t have freedom. And hopefully that’s what the vector of authenticity that’s happening offers – the possibility of real freedom,” she added.
Foster, who is tipped for another Oscar nomination for her role in Nyad, also spoke about her two sons and their attitude towards women.
She explained that while they are now “super feminist”, at one stage her older son believed he needed to be unpleasant to women to be a boy.
The actor added: “And I was like, no! That’s not what it is to be a man! That’s what our culture has been selling you for all this time.”
