Jodie Foster: “Mel Gibson is Loving and Sensitive”

The actor/director defends her embattled colleague

Well, at least someone is in Mel's corner.

Jodie Foster - who co-starred with Gibson in the 1994 comedy "Maverick" and just finished directing him in the upcoming "The Beaver" - has finally spoken out about her feelings for the troubled star.

"He's so incredibly loving and sensitive, he really is," says Foster, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "He is the most loved actor I have ever worked with on a movie. And he's not saintly, and he's got a big mouth, and he'll do gross things your nephew would do. But I knew the minute I met him that I would love him the rest of my life."

Gibson, who was recently charged with misdemeanor battery and must serve three years probation, would often confide in Foster about his rocky personal life.

"I know him in a very complex way. He's a real person; he's not a cardboard cutout. I know that he has troubles, and when you love somebody you don't just walk away from them when they are struggling."

"We talked about it all the way through, about what was going on in his life," says Foster. "I don't think he told me until it was something he couldn't handle by himself."

Foster admits that her campaign to cast Gibson in "The Beaver" was "a hard sell" for the producers, but ultimately she feels his person pain has led to a great performance.

"God, I love that man. The performance he gave in this movie, I will always be grateful for. He brought a lifetime of pain to the character that we've been talking about for years, that I knew was part of his psyche and who he is. It's part of him that is beautiful and that I want people to know, too. I can't ever regret that."

Selected Reading: The Hollywood Reporter, PopEater, Huffington Post

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