Anthony Hopkins Admits He Was Horribly Wrong About The Silence of the Lambs Until He Read the Script
Versatility is just the other name of the legendary actor Anthony Hopkins. The Welsh actor is known for playing one of the most iconic antagonists of all time Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs. He received an Oscar in the category of Best Actor for his excellent performance as Hannibal Lecter.
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According to the actor, he had no idea about the plot of The Silence Of The Lambs until he flipped through the pages of the script that was sent to him by the director Jonathan Demme.
Anthony Hopkins Was Wrong About The Silence Of The Lambs Before Reading The Script
It is next to impossible to imagine someone else as Hannibal Lecter other than Anthony Hopkins. Not many people know that the actor believed that it was a children’s movie when he came across the name of the project back in the early 90s. During a recent interview with the reputed media outlet People, Anthony Hopkins spoke about The Silence Of The Lambs. He confessed that he was totally wrong about the critically acclaimed movie before reading the script.
He was busy doing the play M. Butterfly in London when his agent brought him the script of The Silence Of The Lambs. He recounted-
‘I want you to read this.’ I said, ‘Is it an offer?’ It’s a film with Jodie Foster called The Silence of the Lambs. I thought it was a children’s story. So I opened it. I sat in the dressing room in the theater, and I read through the first scene of Lecter. I said, ‘Is this an offer?’ He said, ‘I’m not sure.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to read anymore because this is one of the best parts I’ve ever read.’”
According to the exclusive interview, director Jonathan Demme flew all the way to London from New York to meet Anthony Hopkins. The actor even mentioned-
“We went out afterward and we had some dinner. And I said, ‘Why’d you cast me?’ He said, ‘Why? Have you got problems?’ I said, ‘No, no. Why did you cast me?”
He recalled-
“So we talked, but I knew how to play the part. And I don’t know. I do have an instinct about these roles. I could understand Lecter. I could understand the mystery of the man, the loner, the isolated voice in the dark, the man at the top of the stairs who’s not really there.”
Anthony Hopkins’ performance in The Silence Of The Lambs is still one of the best of his acting career.
Anthony Hopkins Believes His Co-star Jodie Foster Is Very Practical
True Detective star Jodie Foster was awarded the Academy Award in the category of Best Actress for her performance in The Silence Of The Lambs. She played the character of FBI trainee Clarice Starling in the crime drama. During a recent interview with People, Anthony Hopkins was all praises for his co-star. The actor recalled working with Jodie Foster in The Silence Of The Lambs and said-
“She’s lovely. What’s wonderful about Jodie is that great actor that she is, she has no entourage. She just comes on the set and does it. Very laid back. Very cool. What I like about her, is she’s very practical.”
The Silence Of The Lambs went on to amass a box office collection of $272.7 million worldwide against the production budget of $19 million. Anthony Hopkins immortalized the character of the psychotic serial killer, Hannibal Lecter.
With an IMDb rating of 8.6 out of 10, The Silence Of The Lambs is currently available on Prime Video.
