Jodie Foster: 'I was mauled by a lion'

Actress Jodie Foster has revealed she has a phobia of cats after almost being mauled to death by a lion as an eight-year-old.

The Inside Man star said the incident happened on the set of the 1972 film Napoleon and Samantha.

Speaking on The Tonight Show, Foster said: "I was walking ahead of him. He was on an invisible leash, some piano wire. He got sick of me being slow, picked me up and held me sideways and shook me like a doll.

"I was in shock and thought it was an earthquake. I turned around and saw the entire crew running off in the other direction. The trainer then said, 'Drop it' and he opened his mouth and dropped me."

She added: "Now cats freak me out a little bit."

Foster's next film, Nim's Island, is scheduled for release on May 2.