The casting change that disappointed Anthony Hopkins

After 1991’s Silence of the LambsAnthony Hopkins never thought he would play Hannibal Lecter again. Not that he totally discounted the idea, but rather that he just didn’t pin his hopes on it due to the precarious nature of sequels and the time it takes for authors to write a new book. But little did he know he would go on to embody the cannibalistic psychiatrist twice more on screen, in 2001’s Hannibal and 2002’s Red Dragon.

But while the fava bean and chianti fan himself kept the same casting, other characters would find themselves played by new actors. Most notably, Julianne Moore stepped in for Jodie Foster in the role of Clarice Starling.

Speaking to the BBC at the time, Hopkins expressed surprise a sequel was ever made and disappointment that the team of Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster couldn’t reunite for another foray into the murderous world of author Thomas Harris. “I didn’t think about a sequel because sequels don’t often work, and Thomas Harris takes a long time to write. So I let it go. Then, two years ago, the book was written, and here we are. As you know, Jonathan Demme and Jodie Foster dropped out, and I was mildly disappointed, but I certainly didn’t go out of my way to persuade him. I thought maybe that was the way it was meant to be.”

When Harris’ sequel to The Silence of the Lambs novel dropped, rumours in Hollywood flew of Demme returning to direct Foster and Hopkins in their original roles. However, it soon became apparent that Demme and Foster would not be coming back. This news was met with characteristically nonchalant responses from producer Dino De Laurentiis, who apparently responded to Demme’s refusal by saying, “When the pope dies, we create a new pope. Good luck to Jonathan Demme. Good-bye.”

Hopkins said he had minimal influence over the new casting, although new director Ridley Scott apparently did consult with him over the choice of Julianne Moore, according to The Guardian. His response to his new costar was positive (“Oh yes, jolly good”), and he told the BBC he had seen her before and noted her “tremendous power”.

Moore, for her part, had already made a name for herself during the previous ten years with a run of films with auteurs like the Coen Brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson. She landed the part despite interest in it from some of the top female actors of the moment like Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie and Hilary Swank.

Just as Hannibal Lecter himself is a Bond-like role swapped among actors, with Mads Mikkelsen, Gaspard Ulliel, and Brian Cox all having taken a bite, Clarice Starling has taken on a similar ritual. Moore and Foster both have taken a turn as the young FBI agent with a troubling relationship with a serial killer, and Rebecca Breeds stepped into her shoes for the 2021 television series Clarice.

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