Terry Gross

So here's a scene where he has tried to talk with you and rescue you, take him away from the pimp, but you don't want to be rescued.

So he ends up taking you to a diner.

He's trying to convince you to go back home, be with your parents, and just live a better life.

And you speak first.

I think Paul Schrader doesn't ever get quite enough credit for writing this.

I mean, people who really know movies think he's made terrific movies, but Scorsese did a brilliant job directing it, but Paul Schrader did a brilliant job writing it.

You know, God's Lonely Man and all of Travis's monologues.

Did you get to talk to Schrader about the screenplay?

How did your mother feel about playing a 12-year-old sex worker?

And how did you feel about it?

How much did you understand what that meant?

And also the film has some pretty explicit violence.

Did adults in the ladies' room ever look at you and say,

What are you doing here?

But you've also said that it was hard for you to express emotion unless you were acting.

You've said De Niro stayed in character during the whole shoot and before it, too.

So what he would do is take you to a diner and not necessarily say anything.

Was that fun for you doing those improvs?

Jodie Foster, I've enjoyed this so much.

Thank you so much for coming back to the show.