10 Movie Actors Who Only Played By Their Own Rules

Bursting onto the scene in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver at the age of 12, Jodie Foster quickly made a name for herself as one of Hollywood's stars of tomorrow. However, in the aftermath of her notable turns in films likes Bugsy Malone and Freaky Friday, Foster decided to take some time off acting and focus on her education instead.

At a time when many would've likely advised Foster to keep working while she was in the public eye, the actor did what she felt was right for her, and credits her time at college for being "a wonderful time of self-discovery".

Then, after only performing in films during her summer vacations whilst at college and struggling to gather much momentum with the projects she took part in after graduating, Foster re-announced herself as a force to be reckoned with after playing rape survivor, Sarah Tobias, in The Accused.

This role earned Foster her first Academy Award for Best Actress and opened the door for her next Oscar winning performance in The Silence of the Lambs.

Determined to keep doing what she felt was interesting to her post-Silence and not have a "career for a career's sake", Foster eventually branched out into directing, whilst still playing complicated and compelling characters on screen, and ultimately proved to be an inspiration to a whole new generation of women in front of and behind the camera.