Jodie Foster revealed she was once man-handled by a lion when she worked on the set of the 1972 hit film Napoleon and Samantha.
Hollywood star Jodie opened up about her first film role with Michael Douglas on the Graham Norton show. Joining comedian Wanda Sykes, Lorraine Kelly and Olivia Coleman on the famous red sofa, the 61-year-old reflected on how wild her first acting job was.
The beloved BBC TV host begged the mum-of-two to share the jaw-dropping story when her time on the movie set was almost cut short. He pointed out: “There wasn’t many safety precautions with you and the lion.”
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It was at this point that The Silence of the Lambs star revealed she was only nine years old at the time of the incident. She explained: “No, well there was three lions.
(Image: PA)
“There was one really old lion with no teeth who was the actual lion we were supposed to be working with. And then there was a stunt lion who did all the crazy [roaring] kind of stuff and then there was the stand-in lion, so three lions in total.
“But the old lion wouldn’t move, and you can’t make a lion move because they’re five hundred pounds. So I was working with the stand-in lion, and I guess he had a little piano wire that was pulling him.”
Things quickly took a turn for the worse when the director called cut and the cast took a break from shooting. Jodie went on: “We finished the tape, and I was going up the hill and all I remember is seeing his mane come around and then he picked me up sideways and shook me in his mouth and turned me around.
(Image: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)
“And every single person on the crew was running in the opposite direction and they took their equipment too. So I was sideways watching everybody leave and I was like, ‘What’s happening’ and then feeling like, ‘Oh, it’s an earthquake’ because I was getting shaken.”
Thankfully, the animal handler quickly got the situation under control, but the wild lion certainly made sure she knew not to wrong him in the future. She continued: “The trainer said, ‘drop it’ and because the lion was so well trained, he opened his mouth and dropped me down.
“And I went running and then he came after me and then he just put one paw on me and then just waited like, ‘I got her’. So yeah, that’s the story, but I do remember watching it going, ‘Oh that’s funny, they’re running?’ while sideways being shaken.”
(Image: PA)
Both Graham and Olivia couldn’t help but recoil in shock as they listened to her shocking story on the show. Wanda joked that if she was on set, she’d be sure to have the actor’s back as she stood up and started boxing the air.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
