Everything You Never Knew About ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

The Rights to Hannibal Lecter Were Given Away For Free

One could say that Hannibal Lecter was a free agent of sorts. Thomas Harris’ novel “Red Dragon,” which first introduced the famed character, was adapted for Michael Mann’s 1986 movie, “Manhunter.” Despite its solid reviews, the film barely made any money. According to Box Office Mojo, “Manhunter” scrounched back half its budget at the box office with a total gross of $8 million, less than the cost of its print ads. All in all, “Manhunter” starring Brian Cox as Hannibal was a certified flop. ” ‘Manhunter’ was not ‘Red Dragon,’” producer Dino De Laurentiis told The Guardian in 2001. “‘Manhunter’ was no good.” 

After Harris penned “The Silence of the Lambs,” neither De Laurentiis nor his wife Martha read the book, and let director Jonathan Demme use the character of Hannibal Lecter for free. “We were afraid to make the movie,” Martha noted. “You could be terrible and say no, or you could demand money, which was kind of, ‘Why be greedy?’ Or you let them use it, and if it’s successful, your asset has value.” 

The film adaptation of “The Silence of the Lambs” grossed over $270 million worldwide, and solidified that the De Laurentiises did, in fact, have a gold mine on their hands. 

Gene Hackman Was Originally Set to Direct and Star

Gene Hackman and Orion Pictures originally split the $500,000 needed to purchase the movie rights for the novel “The Silence of the Lambs.” Hackman was set to star and direct the adaptation, but per Mental Floss, the “French Connection” scene-stealer backed out after watching himself play an FBI agent in “Mississippi Burning.” Rumor has it Hackman did not want to follow up the intense film by playing an even more unlikable character, Hannibal Lecter. 

After director Jonathan Demme became attached to the film, Sean Connery, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, and Derek Jacobi were all on the shortlist to portray the charismatic killer.

Production was determined to have a British actor as Hannibal, Jacobi wrote in his 2014 autobiography, “As Luck Would Have It.” “Goodness knows how it would have turned out if I had played the part,” Jacobi reflected, via The Wrap. “But I would have been malevolent in a very different way.” 

Jodie Foster Fought Hard For Her Role as Clarice Starling

Can you imagine Michelle Pfeiffer as Clarice? Well, director Jonathan Demme was dead set on making the “What Lies Beneath” star his rookie FBI agent lead. However, like Gene Hackman, Pfeiffer was worried about the “evil” captured in the film.

“I was uncomfortable with that ending,” Pfeiffer recalled to The New Yorker in Feb. 2021. “I didn’t want to put that out into the world.” 

Meanwhile, Oscar winner Jodie Foster had been in a bidding war with Hackman for the rights to the film. Upon losing out, Foster fought to land the role of Clarice. Demme was rumored to have not been a fan of Foster’s accent in “The Accused,” but after meeting with Foster in person, Demme changed his mind and ultimately cast Foster in the iconic role. 

And, 30 years later, Pfeiffer regrets not collaborating again with her “Married to the Mob” director Demme. 

Jodie Foster Was “Scared” of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal

Maybe Michelle Pfeiffer was right: there was “evil” present on the “The Silence of the Lambs” set. Jodie Foster recalled during Variety’s “Actors on Actors” video series in Feb. 2021 that co-star Anthony Hopkins’ acting chops made for a sinister production experience. 

“I felt a chill come over the room,” Foster admitted. “In a way, it was like we were almost too scared to talk to each other after that.” 

It turns out that Hopkins was equally as “scared” to speak with Foster, but for an entirely different reason! “I thought, ‘She just won an Oscar!’” Hopkins quipped. But after reading the script — which Hopkins originally mistook for a children’s story given its title — he deemed the project “the best part [he] ever read.” 

But, Hopkins’ commitment to Hannibal made for an especially eerie take on method acting. Per reports, the actor stayed in character as Hannibal Lecter in between takes, and even snapped at a crew member on the lighting team, quoting the movie as a threat. 

If Buffalo Bill Seemed Tipsy, It’s Because Actor Ted Levine Was

It takes a shot of tequila, or else it gets the hose again! To master the eccentric stylings of fictional serial killer Buffalo Bill, star Ted Levine “took a couple shots of tequila” and let loose, especially for the iconic dance sequence.

Levine landed the part thanks to his riveting audition, which he admitted to “scaring them to death” to the Chicago Reader in 1991. “Actually I think my audition was better than my performance, by far,” he joked.

Levine studied the most famous American serial killers in history, and found a common thread to root Buffalo Bill a.k.a. Jame Gumb: “By and large all these guys are really nondescript, ineffectual, powerless people. They want to have control over women,” Levine noted.

“I took that a step further with Gumb. Gumb wanted to be a woman, not in the sense of being transsexual, he wanted to possess the female godhead, the power he perceives women having. He wanted to be his own woman, because he wasn’t having sex with his victims, he was simply consuming them.” 

Director Demme originally wanted to cut the scene of Buffalo Bill dancing, but Levine argued that the moment from the novel was pivotal to understanding the killer’s psyche.

“The scene took a lot of courage. It wasn’t in the script, and for me it’s a very moving scene, it identifies the pain and twisted psychology of this character,” Levine opened up. From finding the right music, including tracks by Mick Jagger and David Bowie, various takes ranged from “raunchy” to “gentle.”  They settled on “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazzarus.

Levine took shots of tequila to fully transcend into Buffalo Bill. Levine explained, “He wasn’t born a killer, he was made one, through years of systematic abuse. Billy hates his own identity, he always has, and he thinks that makes him a transsexual. But his pathology is a thousand times more savage.” 

And, lest we forget that Buffalo Bill is actually a trifecta of serial killers: Ted Bundy, who lured women into vans; Ed Gein, who skinned his victims; and Gary Heidnik, who trapped women in a basement pit. 

The Actual FBI Cooperated with Production to Recruit More Female Agents

Jodie Foster received official firearms training, attended new agent trainee classes, and exclusively worked with real-life FBI agent Mary Ann Krause while preparing to play Clarice Starling. Apparently, it was Krause who suggested Clarice to start crying next to her car to show the necessary emotional release agents require. 

The misogynistic through-line for the film as Clarice struggles to be heard by her male superiors led to the actual FBI cooperating with production. “The Silence of the Lambs” would make for a splashy recruitment video, and the FBI hoped the film would help recruit female agents. Per the FBI government website, FBI employees reviewed the script, “corrected details in scenes,” and even played extras. 

The collaboration was a success: by 2002, the FBI received a record number of applicants, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. 

In Feb. 2021, in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary, the FBI issued its February Artifact of the Month to celebrate “The Silence of the Lambs” legacy: a set of business cards — one for Clarice Starling and one for Special Agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn). 

Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Is Based on a Former Professor

Well, that’s sure one way to commemorate a teacher’s influence. At least Anthony Hopkins learned a thing or two from his least favorite Royal Academy professor. 

“There was a teacher we had, a Stanislavsky method teacher, and he was lethal,” Hopkins told Vanity Fair. “He was very charismatic, and he was deadly. He would rip you apart. He would take you apart intellectually. He’d just smirk, and he’s say, ‘No. Do it again.’ You’d do a piece, and he’d say, ‘Do it again. No.’” 

To Hopkins, Hannibal is still a “gentleman” despite his cannibalistic tendencies. “He has finesse. He’s not Buffalo Bill,” Hopkins explained. “When he kills it’s fast and deadly.” 

And his former professor even noticed the parallel in Hopkins’ performance. “I got a phone call afterward: ‘Tony, it’s a wonderful performance. Did you base that on me, by any chance?’” Hopkins admitted, revealing his retired teacher’s name is Christopher Fettes. “This teacher had stayed in my conscience all my life.” 

Now, Hannibal lives in ours.