Long before she was facing down cinematic serial killers or navigating the pressures of Hollywood stardom, a young Jodie Foster was simply trying to survive a Disney movie set. The two time Academy Award winner recently sat down with W Magazine to recount a visceral and terrifying memory from 1972, when she was a nine year old actress working on the film Napoleon and Samantha. While the movie is a lighthearted tale about two children and their pet lion, the reality behind the scenes was anything but whimsical.
Foster revealed that she still carries the physical and emotional marks of a lion attack that occurred during production. According to her recollection, the big cat suddenly turned on her, hoisting her into the air by her hip. She described the sensation of being shaken and moved horizontally before finally being dropped. The attack left her with four distinct puncture wounds, two on each side of her hip. While she joked that the scars have shifted as her body grew over the decades, the memory of the event remains frozen in time.
A Crew in Retreat
Perhaps the most haunting aspect of Foster’s story is not the animal itself, but the reaction of the adults around her. The incident took place just after a shot had concluded, meaning the cameras were not rolling. As the lion held her in its jaws, it turned her toward the production staff. In that moment of pure shock, Foster witnessed the entire camera crew fleeing the scene. Rather than rushing to her aid, the crew members scrambled sideways, lugging their expensive equipment with them as they tried to put distance between themselves and the predator.
The situation only resolved when the animal’s trainer intervened. With a simple command of “drop it,” the lion released the young actress. Looking back, Foster admitted that the speed of the event left little room for immediate fear, though the sheer scale of the danger makes it one of the most harrowing experiences of her fifty year career.
The Return to the Set
In a move that highlights the different safety standards of the early seventies, Foster was sent back to work with the exact same lion as soon as she was discharged from the hospital. While the initial attack was a blur of adrenaline, a subsequent moment proved even more frightening for the young star.
During a later scene, Foster was tasked with carrying a live rooster while standing near the lion. The bird, understandably agitated by the presence of a natural predator, began to panic. When Foster noticed the lion’s head turn with a predatory focus, she didn’t wait for a second attack. She threw the rooster toward the cat and ran as fast as she could. This moment of anticipation, she suggested, was almost scarier than the mauling itself because she was fully aware of the threat.
Napoleon and Samantha, which also featured a young Michael Douglas and Johnny Whitaker, remains a cult classic of the Disney live action era. For Foster, however, it serves as a permanent reminder of the unpredictable nature of working with wildlife and the resilience she developed as a child in an industry that didn’t always have a safety net.