Sir Anthony Hopkins he has many good memories regarding his The silence of the lambs days
In his new memoir, We did good, boythe 87-year-old actor recalled reading the film’s script for the first time, and the epiphany that came over him.
“When I read those lines, I knew the character instantly. The pattern of his personality clicked in my mind,” he wrote in the book, which was published on Tuesday, November 4. “Lecter is described as a monster. That was my hint. Don’t play the monster. Play a calm, friendly version.”
Hopkins played Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film and faced off Jodie Fosterwho played FBI agent Clarice Starling.
“When Lecter first meets Clarice, he is impressed by her professional courage,” Hopkins wrote. “A young woman against an older male serial killer. She seeks Dr. Lecter’s help and guidance, but first Lecter toys with her. He tests her.”
After agreeing to take on the role, it became one of Hopkins’ most memorable characters, even earning him an Academy Award. Keep scrolling to find all his quotes about the movie of We did good, boy:
Feeling of insecurity
Although Hopkins knew the role of Lecter was for him, he was worried about being Welsh. The actor even recalled asking the film’s director, the late Jonathan Demmeif he preferred an American to play the serial killer.
“He laughed and said, ‘You don’t want to do it?'” Hopkins wrote. “I knew they had nothing to worry about because I instinctively sensed exactly how to play Hannibal. I have the devil inside me. We all have the devil inside us. I know what scares people.”
Creation of the Character
Hopkins was inspired by his own “terrible fear” of spiders.
“One night I turned on the light in my father’s bakery, and right next to the switch was a huge black spider, patient and still, but completely alert at the same time. I almost jumped off the roof,” Hopkins wrote. “That was the effect I wanted to have as Hannibal.”
Working with Jodie Foster
There were a few factors that prevented Foster and Hopkins from crossing paths too much during the filming of the film. Initially, it was his performance at the reading table.
“A couple of seconds after he started talking as Lecter, I saw Jodie get tense,” he recalled in the book. “He later confirmed that he was petrified. And that slight distance between us was maintained throughout the shoot.”
The second look was the “glass box cell” Hopkins was in while shooting.
“There’s the thick glass barrier of the cell between us. We had to shoot next to one person for a day or half a day, and then we’d turn around and do the other part,” he explained. “It took about 20 minutes to get in and out of that set, so I didn’t get to chat to Jodie or anyone else in those moments.”
However, they were able to bond during a lunch break between scenes.
“Jodie put down her tuna sandwich and said she had to confess something: she had been scared of me,” Hopkins recalled, noting that she was also “scared” of Foster. But they shared “a big hug” and put it down to the tense nature of the film. “Since then, we have always greeted each other very warmly,” he added.
Dodging the Oscars
Hopkins thought so no chance at an Academy Award win for his role, so he “tried to get out” of attending the awards ceremony. He didn’t want to be “disrespectful” so he attended and ended up winning in the Best Actor category.
“I remember going on stage. Kathy Bates he gave me the Oscar. Apparently, I gave a speech,” he recalled. “Then they took me backstage. Questions from journalists. Everything went well. He had accomplished this with little or no anxiety.”