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| Derek Jacobi reveals he came close to starring in The Silence of the Lambs | Derek Jacobi reveals he came close to starring in The Silence of the Lambs |
| (3 months later) | |
| Derek Jacobi has revealed he and Daniel Day-Lewis were both in line to play the role of Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, which later won Anthony Hopkins an Oscar. | Derek Jacobi has revealed he and Daniel Day-Lewis were both in line to play the role of Hannibal "the cannibal" Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, which later won Anthony Hopkins an Oscar. |
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| Writing in his autobiography, As Luck Would Have It, Jacobi said casting directors for Jonathan Demme's 1991 thriller, about a young FBI agent who consults a jailed psychopathic murderer in her efforts to track down a serial killer, shortlisted a trio of actors for the role. | Writing in his autobiography, As Luck Would Have It, Jacobi said casting directors for Jonathan Demme's 1991 thriller, about a young FBI agent who consults a jailed psychopathic murderer in her efforts to track down a serial killer, shortlisted a trio of actors for the role. |
| "I was one of the three finalists for the casting of Hannibal Lecter for The Silence of the Lambs: the others were Daniel Day-Lewis and Tony Hopkins," writes Jacobi. "They were determined to have a Brit for their villain – I'm not sure what this says about us. Goodness knows how it would have turned out if I had played the part, but I would have been malevolent in a very different way. | "I was one of the three finalists for the casting of Hannibal Lecter for The Silence of the Lambs: the others were Daniel Day-Lewis and Tony Hopkins," writes Jacobi. "They were determined to have a Brit for their villain – I'm not sure what this says about us. Goodness knows how it would have turned out if I had played the part, but I would have been malevolent in a very different way. |
| "Tony has harder eyes than I have. He was wonderful." | "Tony has harder eyes than I have. He was wonderful." |
| Silence of the Lambs gave Hopkins a huge career boost: prior to the film, which was based on Thomas Harris's 1988 novel, he had never been nominated for an Oscar. Since winning the best supporting actor prize in 1992, the Welshman has been firmly on the awards radar. He picked up a further three nominations between 1994 and 1998 – for The Remains of the Day, Nixon and Amistad – and in 2008 received a Bafta fellowship. | Silence of the Lambs gave Hopkins a huge career boost: prior to the film, which was based on Thomas Harris's 1988 novel, he had never been nominated for an Oscar. Since winning the best supporting actor prize in 1992, the Welshman has been firmly on the awards radar. He picked up a further three nominations between 1994 and 1998 – for The Remains of the Day, Nixon and Amistad – and in 2008 received a Bafta fellowship. |
| Playing Lecter is not a guaranteed passport to Oscar glory, however. Brian Cox's acclaimed turn in the same role in Michael Mann's 1986 thriller Manhunter (based on Harris's earlier novel Red Dragon) singularly failed to attract the interest of the Academy. | Playing Lecter is not a guaranteed passport to Oscar glory, however. Brian Cox's acclaimed turn in the same role in Michael Mann's 1986 thriller Manhunter (based on Harris's earlier novel Red Dragon) singularly failed to attract the interest of the Academy. |
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