Jodie Foster, 63, sparks schizophrenia fears after therapy admission

Foster, 63, made the comments while discussing her work habits and post-production comedown, explaining how the end of a shoot leaves her adrift after periods of extreme discipline and exhaustion.

The Oscar-winning actress and director, who has worked continuously since childhood, described a cycle in which she throws herself into a role and then struggles to recalibrate once filming ends.

Foster admitted, “I work like a dog. I’m obsessed. And then I just want to go to sleep… I feel lost when I don’t have a routine. I am a disciplined person.

“When I’m making a movie, I can’t stick to my routine. I have to work 15 hours a day for four months and just sleep all weekend. I don’t talk to anyone. I don’t know what’s happening in the news. I just have to look at the character and where I’m going.”

She added, “When the movie is over, I think, ‘Thank God it’s over.’ I’m going back to sleep. I don’t do anything. I’m becoming a total couch potato. I’m really bored.

“Then I go to therapy and it all starts again. It’s like a year-long cycle.”

The comments have raised concerns among some close to the actress, who say the sheer intensity of the pattern is striking, even by Hollywood standards.

An industry source told us: ‘People aren’t officially diagnosing her or suggesting anything clinically, but there is real concern about how extreme the swing sounds.

“Going from total immersion to total lockdown over and over is not something most people could sustain without support.”

Another insider said the honesty of Foster’s comments have shocked longtime admirers, adding: “Fans see her as unwavering, hyper-competent, always in control. Hearing her describe herself as lost, bored and in need of therapy after every project has honestly baffled people who thought she had mastered that balance decades ago.”

But a health expert we consulted said Foster sounds “dangerously immersed” in her roles, adding: “Going from deep immersion to deep immersion and crashing in between can have a significant psychological and physical impact on an actor.”

“It’s similar to schizophrenia in that there are so many different people, and I hope Jodie’s therapist gets her to ‘purge’ them all from her consciousness before moving on to the next role.”

Foster also spoke openly about her relationship with rest in her recent conversation, describing sleep as both a necessity and an indulgence.

She added, “I admit that I love taking naps. Sleeping is necessary, but a nap is just perfection. The perfect timing for a nap is 45 minutes or an hour, but two hours is damn good.”

The comments come as Foster continues a late-career surge that has earned widespread praise.

She recently said that she believes that at 60 she is producing the strongest work of her life, while using less emotional energy than before.

Foster added: “I think I’m doing the best work of my life. And the dirty little secret is that I’ve never worked less in terms of my energy output. I just do what I think, and then I have a coffee.”

Looking back on her early career choices, Foster credited her mother with supporting her against the pressures of Hollywood.

She said: “I relied on a creative instinct and she gave me the Hollywood wisdom. I want to challenge the Hollywood wisdom. She was guided by fear and convention. It was really enlightening to say at the age of 27, I’m not going to listen to your fears.”

But sources insist Foster’s latest admissions underscore the costs of that fiercely independent path.

“She has always worked on her own terms,” said one. “What people are responding to now is how much those conditions took a toll on her, even after all these years.”