10 Insane Things Movie Fans Did For Their Favourite Actors
6. John Hinckley Jr. Tried To Kill The President To Impress Jodie Foster
They say that love is blind, but in the case of John Hinckley Jr, it definitely had its sight... it was just absolutely deranged.
His obsession with actress Jodie Foster began after he watched Scorsese's Taxi Driver, which features Foster in a supporting role. In the movie, protagonist Travis Bickle plans to shoot presidential candidate Charles Palantine; he ultimately fails, but that didn't stop Hinckley taking inspiration from this part of the film's story, combining it with his adoration of Foster and devising a truly madcap scheme.
After taking on many of Bickle's mannerisms and even wearing his clothes, Hinckley planned to "impress" Foster by committing some sort of violent act. The act he chose? Assassination. The target? Then-U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
Hinckley followed Carter all over the country, but his efforts proved fruitless and he was arrested in Tennessee after being discovered with a gun. Hinckley was sent to a psychiatrist, but he wasn't done yet - he then set his sights on Carter's successor, Ronald Reagan.
In March 1981, Hinckley managed to fire six shots at Reagan just outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. One of these shots hit Reagan in the arm, leaving the president wounded, but alive. Hinckley was arrested, found not guilty by way of insanity, and sent to a psychiatric hospital. The things people do for love...