Open Post: Hosted By Sir Anthony Hopkins Revealing That He Thought “Silence Of The Lambs” Was A Kid’s Movie
Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) and Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) reunited for a virtual chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors interview series. They discussed their respective careers and eventually circled back to their experience filming 1991’s Silence of the Lambs. Jodie asked Anthony if he had any specific memories from the movie, and he admitted that when he first heard the film’s title, he assumed it was a kid’s movie. I guess he thought Silence of the Lambs sounded like a Babe-type film about a lamb who can’t “baaaah.” But, as he soon learned, the actual script was a wee bit darker.
via People:
“Is it a children’s story?” he recalls thinking. “I was in London in 1989, doing a play called M. Butterfly. My agent sent the script.”
After 10 pages, Variety reports, Hopkins called his agent back, asking if it was a real offer, declaring to his agent: “This is the best script I’ve ever read.”
“I read the rest of the script, and Jonathan [Demme, the director] came over on a Saturday afternoon and we had dinner,” said Hopkins, who won the Oscar for his role as Hannibal Lecter in 1992. “And I said, ‘Is this for real?’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ He was such a wonderful guy to work with. “
83-year-old Anthony also said he couldn’t believe his luck when he learned Jodie (now 58) would be playing Clarice. He says he was scared to speak to her, cuz she’d just won an Oscar for 1989’s The Accused. Anthony also admitted he was nervous that he would be the wrong fit for the role:
“I was naturally nervous, an Englishman — a limey like me, a Welshman — playing an American serial killer,” Hopkins recalled. “And I remember Jonathan, when the camera picked me up, he said, ‘Oh, my God. That’s it. Hopkins. You’re so weird!’ And I said, ‘Why, thank you.’ And they wanted the lighting girl to come into my cell, and I said, ‘What are you doing in my cell?’ And [Jonathan] said, ‘Oh, my God.’ So I knew I had pressed the right button. Once you got that button, hold on to it — and go with it.”
Jodi asked him if people still come up to him and ask if he’d like a nice Chianti, and he said they do.
Here’s the video of the interview. The Silence of the Lambs talk starts around the 16:00 mark:
Although I enjoy a reunion as much as the next guy, I think Variety shoulda let Armie Hammer interview Anthony about his role as Hannibal Lecter. I have a feeling Armie’s questions would have been far more… specific.
Pic: YouTube