John Hinckley Jr. Shares New Message for Jodie Foster in Rare Interview

John Hinckley Jr., the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has shared a new message for Jodie Foster during an appearance on the Mark Joseph Show. Speaking in a rare interview, Hinckley offered a brief, measured wish for the actress whose name has been tied to one of the darkest chapters in American political history.

"I just wish Jodie Foster well, you know," Hinckley said. "I don't really see her movies, but I wish her well, and I know she's doing quite well. And that's all I can say is just, I wish Jodie well, and I hope she has a good life." (Variety)

The remarks sit against a decades-old backdrop. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley, then 25, waited outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., for President Reagan. When Reagan emerged, Hinckley fired all six shots from his Röhm revolver. Several staff and Secret Service agents were injured. A bullet ricocheted off Reagan's limousine and struck him in the chest. Labor official Alfred Antenucci brought Hinckley to the ground seconds after the shooting, with assistance from agent Dennis McCarthy. (Variety)

Foster was 18 at the time. Hinckley had stalked her while she was a student at Yale years before the assassination attempt. In the interview, host Mark Joseph asked what Hinckley hoped to achieve by shooting Reagan. "I wanted to have a union with Jodie Foster and live the rest of my life with her and all these things that, of course, were delusional," Hinckley said. "But I was believing those things at the time, so the best outcome would have been a union with Jodie Foster." He added that he believed Foster would join him wherever he was after things settled down. (Variety)

Immediately before the attempt, Hinckley had written a letter to Foster in which he said there was a definite possibility he would be killed in his effort to get Reagan. (Famous Trials)

Hinckley, an Oklahoma native, was tried in federal court and found not guilty on all 13 charges by reason of insanity — a verdict that means the court determined he was unable to understand the wrongfulness of his actions at the time. The acquittal stunned the public and reshaped the national conversation around the insanity defence in the United States. (Variety)

Foster, for her part, went on to build one of the most decorated careers in American cinema, winning two Academy Awards for Best Actress. She has rarely spoken publicly about Hinckley or the assassination attempt across more than four decades.

His new message, however brief, puts a name back into circulation that most of the film industry and the country had long filed away.