Jodie Foster is proud to "support" Mel Gibson through his "struggles".

Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster

The 55-year-old actress-and-director cast the 62-year-old star in her 2011 movie 'The Beaver' at a time when he had been outcast from Hollywood after making anti-semitic comments when arrested for drink driving in 2006, but despite the many scandals her friend has been involved in over the years, she'll always stand by him.

She told The Guardian newspaper: "I love him, and when you have a friend who you love, you support them through their struggles.

"Yes, a lot of struggles, and he has to live with the consequences of his actions, and he would say the same thing."

The 'Hotel Artemis' star also feels "maternal" towards fellow former child stars, especially those she's previously worked with, such as Kristen Stewart, Claire Danes and Seth Green.

She told The Guardian newspaper: "We have a special handshake other people don't understand, and I'll seek them out when they're having a tough time. You know what it's like."

Jodie - who has sons Charlie, 20, and Kit, 16, with former partner Cydney Bernard and is married to photographer Alexandra Hedison - became friends with Mel when they worked on 'Maverick' in 1994 and she's spoken out to defend him many times over the years.

In 2016, she said: "t's not my job to adjudicate his behaviour.

"He's certainly not sexist and certainly not racist. I know the guy I know, somebody who's really emotional, who I can have long, long conversations with, who's trustworthy, who shows up for me."

And speaking after his 2016 arrest, she said: "Is he an anti-Semite? Absolutely not. But it's no secret that he has always fought a terrible battle with alcoholism."

The feeling of admiration is mutual too, as Mel has previously spoken about the "pure" love he has for his friend.

He said: "The way she directs films, the way she does anything--it's just very smart. She attacks it and deals with it and delivers.

"I just love her, that's all. You meet people like that sometimes. You just instantly fall in love, and that's it, and it's the purest kind of thing. We call each other up all the time and just say, 'Hey, I love you.' "

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