Switching gears: Foster going for laughs

The last time Jodie Foster showed off her funny side was in 1994's "Maverick," a sharp-witted western based on the classic TV series.

"I've been wanting to do a comedy for a long time," says the actress. "I just couldn't find anything that was good enough."

Foster, best known for her Oscar-winning performances in 1988's "The Accused" and 1991's "Silence of the Lambs," most recently starred as a vigilante in "The Brave One."

In a complete departure from those roles, Foster plays an agoraphobic novelist in the fantasy adventure "Nim's Island," based on the popular children's book by Wendy Orr. The movie opens Friday.

As Alexandra Rover, Foster writes novels in the first person (as Alex Rover, an Indiana Jones-like adventure seeker.) In actuality, Rover is so uptight she can't step foot outside her townhouse to get the mail. That is, until she receives an urgent e-mail from a young fan claiming to be alone on an uncharted South Pacific island after her scientist father has gone missing. Alex must summon the courage to embark on a rescue mission similar to one her fictional hero might take.

The actress explains that her quirky on-screen character is essentially an extension of the fearful, solitary, dramatic characters she's portrayed before. Only this time it's for laughs.

"Little Miss Sunshine's" Abigail Breslin co-stars as the title character, with "300's" Gerard Butler playing a dual role as the missing dad and Rover's fictional adventurer, Alex Rover.

"What's interesting to me in this movie is that I find myself talking about things like fear and this sort of solitary world she's created and finding a hero in yourself," observes the Yale-educated Foster. "Those are all themes that I've played in dramas -- many, many times."

After a string of serious roles, Foster says it was time to lighten up. She saw "Nim's Island" as an opportunity to make a family film she could take her sons (Charlie, 9 and Kit, 6) to see. The adapted screenplay, co-written and co-directed by husband and wife filmmakers Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, also appealed to the actress.

"I'll always be a dramatic actor -- that's where my heart is," explains Foster. "But I'll do comedies every once in a while."

Having grown up in the public eye -- she made her debut at age 3 in a Coppertone commercial and starred in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" at age 13 -- Foster sees a lot of herself in young Breslin, who turns 12 in April.

"She's very well-adjusted and she likes to just get on with it and do her job and not dwell on 'the acting stuff,'" the veteran actress says.

She sees something else in the up-and-coming star.

"She has very strong access to her emotions. I really didn't have that at her age," she adds.

Asked whether she gave Breslin any acting tips, Foster chuckles.

"She wasn't looking for advice," she says. "Our (offscreen) conversations were more about what flavor popsicles do you like."

Foster witnessed growth in her young co-star over the course of the four-month shoot in Australia last year. Born and raised in New York City, Breslin was an adequate swimmer before production began on "Nim's Island." But she had never swum in the ocean or straddled a trained sea lion in the water (as she does in one scene).

"When we started rehearsals she was a little scared of stuff," recalls Foster. "By the end, though, she was diving into the waves. It really brought up her confidence in a way that was good. And that's what kids are looking for from these adventure stories."

Foster served as kind of a role model for Breslin. "Just watching her, you can learn from her because you just believe every character she plays," says the young actress.

Though she is a seasoned director herself, Foster says she refrained from giving unsolicited input to Levin and Flackett, deferring to their judgment as filmmakers. But the duo accepted one of her suggestions. Initially, Butler's roles were going to be played by two different actors; Foster suggested he play both parts.

"It made the story more of a fairy tale in a really great way -- and kind of made everything seem much more fated, which was really wonderful," recalls Flackett. "Jodie was really right."

Prior to production, the actress embarked on what has become a Foster tradition. She went on her own adventure, taking her family to Iceland to see glaciers. It was a bit more adventurous than usual, the very private actress recalls. Typically, she will take a long hike and just get away from it all before going on location. She calls her getaways "bourgeois," but they give her a sense of accomplishment before tackling a new project.

That sense of self-reliance and personal growth has been an important part of Foster's life for as long as she can remember.

"Even though I was born in the '60s, I still had the influence of my mom's generation that just did not believe (women) could take care of themselves," she says. "So self-reliance and making decisions that are strong decisions because they're what you know is right and believing in yourself are very important."

Having allowed 13 years to elapse since her last directing project (the romantic comedy "Home for the Holidays"), Foster is eager to get back behind the camera soon.

"That's where my focus is right now, but who knows if anything is going to happen or if it's going to turn up," she says.