How Anthony Hopkins created the most iconic scene in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’
When Anthony Hopkins performed the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 adaptation of Thomas Harris’ 1988 novel The Silence of the Lambs alongside Jodie Foster, he would create the archetype for the mentally unstable yet wildly intelligent serial killer that we would see in several TV shows and movies over the following years.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hopkins once explained how he wanted to create Lecter. Jonathan Demme had come to see Hopkins in a play in London, and when he offered him the role, Hopkins was confused as to why he would choose him over an American actor for an American film.
“He said, ‘Well, I saw you in The Elephant Man, playing Dr. Treves.’ Which puzzled me,” Hopkins noted. “I said, ‘Why would that resonate with you?’ He said, ‘Well, because Treves is a really good man.’ And I said, ‘Okay. Well, what about Hannibal Lecter?’ He said, ‘I think he’s a good man, he’s a very bright man. He’s trapped in an insane brain.’ I thought, ‘Oh.'”
Hopkins went on to explain how he came up with one of the film’s most iconic scenes, in which Lecter appears in a prison cell before Clarice. “I remember the day when Jonathan asked me [how I wanted to be revealed in the prison cell for the first time],” the actor said.
“It was Monday, January the 9th, 1990,” Hopkins continued, “And he said, ‘The camera’s going to be Jodie coming down the corridor. How’d you want to be seen? Do you want to be standing, or reading, or asleep, or something?’ I said, ‘No. I’d like to be standing.’ ‘Where?’ I said, ‘In the centre of the cell.’ ‘Why?’ I said, ‘I can smell her.’ He said, ‘You are crazy’.”
Evidently, Hopkins was perfect for the role of Lecter; he understood his craziness and was able to offer his thoughts on how his mental state might be elevated for the screen. He’d go on to play one of the most memorable fictional serial killers ever committed to film and made the performance entirely his own.
Hopkins went on to discuss Lecter’s complex relationship with Clarice. “Clarice, when he sees her, and they get deeper into the conversations, he knows he would never harm her,” Hopkins said. “A male, he would. He’ll take on any male. But he promises, ‘I’ll never come after you.’
“Because he respects her too much, loves her in a way,” the actor continued. “Even though he needles her about her cheap shoes and her good handbag, he knows the feminine nature. I think there’s a lot of female in him. We’re all ambidextrous. We all have that, the anima and the animus.”
