Jodie Foster has said Generation Z can be “really annoying” to work with.
The Oscar-winning American actress and filmmaker sometimes found their attitude to work difficult to understand.
Speaking to The Guardian, Foster, 61, said: “They’re like, ‘Nah, I’m not feeling it today, I’m gonna come in at 10.30am’.”
She discussed how she had recently reached out to non-binary British actor Bella Ramsey, 20, and felt compelled to help young would-be stars find their path “because it was hard growing up”.
Foster joking about Gen Z - those born during the late 1990s to early 2000s - said: “They’re really annoying - especially in the workplace.
“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?’”
She singled out Ramsey for praise, recalling how she first met The Last of Us and Game of Thrones star at Elle’s Women in Hollywood celebration.
Former child actress Foster, who went on to have a glittering screen career, described it as a “wonderful event” but noted that all of the attendees were “wearing heels and eyelashes”.
She said: “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: “I do a lot of reaching out to young actresses. I’m compelled. Because it was hard growing up.”
The actress said it was “bleak” for her when she was younger and added that she would not have been able to wear a suit when she was young.
Asked if she would have been able to sport that kind of outfit, she said: “No. 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.
“We had other things that were good. And I would say: I did the best I could for my generation.
“I was very busy understanding where I fitted in and where I wanted to be in terms of feminism.
“But my lens wasn’t wide enough. I lived in an incredibly segregated world.”
Foster, who has been married to photographer Alexandra Hedison since 2014, has two sons from her marriage to Cydney Bernard and says they are “super feminist”.
“They like to watch movies and sit at home, and they’re really into their female friends,” she said.
The actress, who has starred in films including Taxi Driver in 1976 and 1991’s The Silence Of The Lambs, has won two Oscars and received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2016.
