
Crawford wants Clarice to approach the infamous Dr.
#Actor in silence of the lambs serial#
The Silence of the Lambs opens by introducing us to FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a brilliant student who has been selected by Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn), the head of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit, to help in the pursuit of a serial killer called Buffalo Bill, who skins his victims after murdering them. In truth, the climax couldn't be more mundane. However, the rest of the movie, which concentrates on the pursuit of serial killer Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), has a familiar, derivative feel. The scenes featuring Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) are the stuff of legends. The Silence of the Lambs contains a number of inarguably great scenes, but the screenplay, adapted from Thomas Harris' novel, suffers from a split personality.
#Actor in silence of the lambs movie#
Secondly, it is a dark psychological thriller - the kind of movie that occasionally receives a Best Picture nomination, but almost never takes home the statuette.Īlthough The Silence of the Lambs is brilliantly constructed and powerfully acted, and became one of the most recognizable thrillers of the '90s, it was neither the best movie of the year (a citation I would award to Beauty and the Beast) nor even the best thriller (overall, Dead Again impressed me more). In the first place, it was released in February 1991, a date thought to be beyond the short memories of the Academy members. Granted, 1991 was a slow year for movies, and many pundits have remarked that the Oscar field was among the weakest ever (the other contenders were Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Bugsy, JFK, and the overrated The Prince of Tides), but the strong showing of The Silence of the Lambs was a surprise to almost everyone.

It's also a fun coincidence that he would go on to appear in Hopkins' Red Dragon after appearing in Manhunter, making him the only actor to be part of two different adaptations of Red Dragon.When The Silence of the Lambs took the Academy Awards ceremony by storm in 1992, winning in five major categories (Best Picture, Best Director - Jonathan Demme, Best Actor - Anthony Hopkins, Best Actress - Jodie Foster, and Best Adapted Screenplay - Ted Tally), it beat the odds in more ways than one. It's seemingly by pure chance that he ended up being the only actor to take part in both Hopkins and non-Hopkins Hannibal Lecter movies. Perhaps what's most remarkable about the fact that Faison appears in four different Hannibal Lecter movies is that there's no indication his appearance in Manhunter had any connection to his Silence of the Lambs casting. Faison also drew laughs as the Queens slumlord that Akeem and Semmi rent an apartment from in the classic Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America.
Faison has plenty of his own claims to fame though, outside of just playing Barney in the Hannibal Lecter movies, including his role as Deputy Commissioner Ervin Burrell in HBO's critically lauded crime drama The Wire. This makes him the most regular returning Hannibal Lecter movie cast member.Ĭontrary to what some might be incorrectly inclined to assume, Frankie Faison isn't related to fellow actor Donald Faison, who played Dr. Faison memorably played Barney, the kind orderly that had a somewhat friendly relationship with Hannibal in the three Hopkins films, but he also played the small role of cop Lt. Instead, the distinction goes to prolific character actor Frankie Faison, a man with over 100 credits on his resume.

Hopkins would certainly seem like the answer to the question of what actor has made the most appearance in Hannibal Lecter movies, but thanks to Manhunter, he actually doesn't hold that particular crown. Related: Why A Hannibal Movie Would Be Better Than Season 4

That's even to the point where many forget a Hannibal movie was made prior to Hopkins' involvement, 1986's Manhunter. Mads Mikkelsen's small screen portrayal of Hannibal has amassed its own cult of followers, but to most audiences, Hopkins is still the definitive portrayal of the character. Lecter in movies or on TV, he's definitely the most famous, mostly thanks to the all-time classic Silence of the Lambs. While Hopkins - more recently known for playing Odin in the MCU - is only one of four actors to have played Dr.
