In the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, which actor plays Hannibal Lecter?

In the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins plays Hannibal Lecter.

Hopkins portrays Lecter as an imprisoned psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer whom FBI trainee Clarice Starling consults while pursuing another murderer. Although Lecter has limited screen time, the performance became one of the film’s defining elements because of its controlled voice, stillness and intense exchanges with Starling.

The role earned Hopkins the Academy Award for Best Actor. His win is notable because he appears for only a small portion of the film, while Jodie Foster won Best Actress for playing Starling.

The film, directed by Jonathan Demme, adapted Thomas Harris’s 1988 novel of the same name. Brian Cox had previously played Lecter, under the name “Hannibal Lecktor,” in the 1986 film Manhunter, a common source of confusion about the character’s screen portrayals.