The two movies Anthony Hopkins regrets making
The sequel is an illustrious beast. While a lot of the time, they might seem like good ideas, they don’t always pan out that way, as the initial hype achieved by films can often never be obtained again, and sequels frequently end up being lazy rehashes of originals. They are an important aspect of Hollywood, as they can help expand movies into franchises, give more to an eagerly awaiting audience and sometimes end up being excellent films, but there are more failures than success stories.
There aren’t many actors who are immune to the bad sequel, either. If you look throughout the history of the silver screen, A-listers everywhere have succumbed to the pitfalls surrounding popular pictures. Films like Grease 2, Highlander 2 and Son of the Mask let down actors and audiences, and even the most prestigious of names like Anthony Hopkins can’t escape.
In 1991, the critically acclaimed movie The Silence of the Lambs was released. Directed by Jonathan Demme, there was a lot to love about this picture, as an engaging detective story is dialled up to 11 as Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster) consults a serial killer to get into the head of the man she is currently hunting. Foster is brilliant, and the direction of Demme is inspired; however, one of the standouts of the movie is the unrivalled performance of Anthony Hopkins as he portrays cannibalistic serial killer turned police informant Hannibal Lecter.
Audiences everywhere loved the movie, and the industry reciprocated that love. Silence of the Lambs was nominated for several Oscars and received acclaim from various people in film. The movie cleaned up at the Oscars, winning best actress, screenplay, direction and acting for Hopkins’s brilliant portrayal of Lecter.
So, when a movie that complex and popular hits the screens, production companies will be keen on having a sequel. Hannibal Lecter was a side character in the original, and there were still so many layers to him which could be explored, so scripts were written that explored those layers. While it sounds like a good idea in theory, and while the Hannibal sequels weren’t terrible, they could never live up to the hype of the original.
Hopkins felt this, as he states that the two Silence of the Lambs sequels he was in, Hannibal and Red Dragon, are two films he regrets making. “I did it once,” he said when talking about the movies, “Made the mistake of doing it twice – three times. The Silence of the Lambs is okay. It was a good film.”
Hopkins stands by this opinion but also states that he has no interest in portraying Hannibal Lecter ever again. Despite Hopkins’s reluctance, the story of Hannibal continues to be told through various pieces of writing and TV series. When a layered, complex character like that is created, it’s natural for studios to want to explore it; however, these explorations aren’t always done to a high standard, and sometimes, it’s time to draw a line under these characters. Or, as Anthony Hopkins said, “I don’t want to do that. Done with that.”
