Originally appeared on E! Online
Jodie Foster just wanted to foster a normal childhood for her boys.
That is why, when the two-time Oscar winner sons Charles "Charlie" Bernard Foster, 25, and Christopher "Kit" Bernard Foster, 22, were growing up, she kept quiet about her job. As she put it, "I guess I just didn't want them to know me that way."
"I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who went away to work and stuff," Foster explained during her Jan. 19 appearance on "The View." "I just didn't want them to be confused about what I did for a living," she added.
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In fact, the "Silence of the Lambs" alum's oldest spent his toddler years thinking she worked in construction.
"I brought him to set one day and I bought him a little plastic tool belt and stuff," recalled the actress, who shares her kids with former partner Cydney Bernard. "And I was like, ‘Yeah, and this is this set and this set and this set.' And for a really long time, he thought I was a construction worker."
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Nowadays, the "Panic Room" actress' sons are well-aware of her decades-long acting career. And though Charlie has followed his mom's footsteps into the entertainment industry, according to the actress, he and his younger brother "have no interest in watching my movies with me."
"I think they're going to catch "True Detective," the 61-year-old said, "'cause they're really into that."
However, she noted that there are "a few films that I would never show them because I would be worried about being teased."
One example is "Nell," the 1995 movie about a young woman who was raised in isolation and struggles to communicate with the outside world.
"They do tease me often about that," noted Foster, whose performance in the film landed her a fourth Oscar nomination, "even though they've never seen the movie."