Tatum O’Neal is reflecting on the role that could have been.
The iconic actress, who made history at age 10 by winning the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1974’s “Paper Moon,” told Variety that her father — fellow actor and “Paper Moon” co-star Ryan O’Neal — forbid her from auditioning for “Taxi Driver.” Tatum was asked to audition for the Martin Scorsese feature after her Academy Award win; the film was released in 1976 with a 13-year-old Jodie Foster instead in the Oscar-nominated role of a child prostitute.
“My father said, ‘No, you can’t,’” Tatum said of Ryan restricting her budding career as a child star. She added that Ryan thought the…