Jodie Foster reveals moment that ended her theatre career

Jodie Foster has revealed the moment that ended her theatre career.

The actress's stalker, John Hinckley, shot then-American president Ronald Reagan to "impress" her during her first theatre run in 1981.

"I'm finally able to admit that the one bit of theatre I did when I was in college, there was so much trauma involved in it - well, just quickly, the play happened in two weekends, and I did the first weekend, and in between the first weekend and the second weekend, John Hinckley shot the president," Jodie told fellow actress Jodie Comer in a new conversation published by Interview magazine.

"He shot him in order to impress me, and he had written letters to me, so it was a big moment in my life."

Foster, 61, told Comer, 31, the incident had huge ramifications for her.

"The world fell apart, there were Secret Service people everywhere, I had bodyguards, and I had to be taken to a safe house," the Oscar winner added.

She went on to explain that after the attempted assassination, she felt "the show must go on" and resumed her role the following weekend - only to discover a theatregoer had brought a gun into the audience.

"It was a traumatic moment, and I've never admitted that maybe that has something to do with how I never wanted to do a play again," Foster said.