Jodie Foster thinks Kristen Stewart is a "shaking leaf".

Kristen Stewart and Jodie Foster

Kristen Stewart and Jodie Foster

The 53-year-old actress was incredibly moved when her 'Panic Room' co-star - who was just 10 years old when she shot the film - gave a speech in her honour when she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier this month because she knows how uncomfortable her friend, 26, feels in public.

She said: "That was the unexpectedly great part of it, really -- reconnecting with Kristen. There was something really emotional about it, because on 'Panic Room' she was that little 10-year-old girl who I just loved so much.

"I thought she was the coolest kid ever, and I couldn't wait to meet her when she grew up.

"It's so moving, really, to have her come out and do this kind thing, and I know it's not easy for her.

"She's a little bit of a shaking leaf, and it makes me want to put my arm around her and tell her that I'll make her dinner, you know?"

As a former child star herself, Jodie - who started modelling at three and acting at five - feels a particular "kinship" to Kristen and 25-year-old Jack O'Connell, who stars in her latest directorial effort 'Money Monster', and cites the pair as "proof" that going into movies at a young age doesn't have to "screw you up".

She told Vulture: "I think there is [a kinship]. It's a weird way to grow up, and you hone a strange survival skill. Everybody does it differently, but you are forever changed by that experience. So there is a kinship to it.

"I will say, both Jack and Kristen are just wonderful, genuine people. So much for saying that being a child actor screws you up!

"hey both have prioritised and trusted their authenticity, and that's really what has made them so real."