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Brian Cox reveals that he and Anthony Hopkins agreed not to talk about both playing Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter (1986) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), respectively. Based on the Thomas Harris novels, Hanniba’s first movie appearance was in Michael Mann’s Manhunter, which follows FBI profiler Will Graham (William Petersen) as he consults with Lecter as he chases a killer dubbed the “tooth fairy.” Jonathan Demme’s Silence of the Lambs features a similar setup, with Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling working with Lecter to catch serial killer Jame Gumb (Ted Levine).
During a recent interview with THR in which he looks back at his decades-long career, Cox reflects on playing Hannibal in Manhunter only a few years before Hopkins would take on the same role in The Silence of the Lambs to much greater acclaim. The actor says that Hopkins played the character “brilliantly,” but reveals that he had to be careful about how he saw the movie in theaters out of fear of what people would think:
Well, it’s a different character. I mean, it’s like playing Hamlet. Everybody’s going to have their own Hamlet. I chose to play it the way the director Michael Mann and I decided to play it. Tony played it brilliantly. I mean, I had to go to Paris to see it because I couldn’t bring myself to see it in London […] because people knew that I was the other Hannibal, and I was worried about them saying, “You’re comparing Hannibal Lecters” and all that.
But we played it the way we played it. Tony decided to take it down another route. And of course, Tony’s was a huge success, and he got the Oscar and he made a lot of money out of it. I made something like 10 grand.
As for why Cox and Hopkins agreed not to discuss the role, this decision stemmed from an unfortunate miscommunication from an interview Cox did, with one of his comments becoming misconstrued. Check out Cox’s full explanation below:
We do not discuss it. I’ll tell you why. I did an interview with a newspaper, and the headline in the newspaper was that I was the first Hannibal Lecter. Well, that was true, but it sounded like I was boasting about it and I wasn’t. And then I woke up one afternoon and the phone started ringing and all hell broke loose.
Tony and I used to share the same agent, and Tony’s then-missus rang my agent and said, “Tony’s a bit upset about that.” So I rang my agent and I said, “Look, I apologize.” Tony and I have worked together a couple of times since. We never talk about it. And that’s a rule that we never would.
What Cox & Hopkins’ Dual Hannibal Roles Meant For Their Careers
How The Two Films Compare Critically & Commercially
Though Manhunter may not be quite as beloved as Mann’s Heat (1995) or Collateral (2004), it earned positive reviews from critics at the time of its release. Unfortunately, as seen in the chart below, it was also a major box office disappointment, failing to make back its fairly modest $15 million budget. Manhunter may have been Cox’s first major role, but its failure meant that it wasn’t the big break he may have been hoping for.
|
Manhunter vs. Silence of the Lambs |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Title |
Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score |
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score |
Est. Budget |
Worldwide Box office |
|
Manhunter |
94% |
77% |
$15M |
$8.6M |
|
The Silence of the Lambs |
95% |
95% |
$19M |
$272M |
Silence of the Lambs’ positive reviews, on the other hand, accompanied box office success. The film was nominated for a total of seven Oscars and won five, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The movie was a far more clear win for both Hopkins and Foster, paving the way for future success in Hollywood and beyond in a more linear fashion.
Our Take On Cox & Hopkins’ Hannibal Performances
They’re Both Impressive For Different Reasons
Though Cox and Hopkins may not discuss their time as Hannibal, both are performances worth revisiting. Hopkins’ take on the iconic killer may be more famous, but Cox’s isn’t without its strengths. Cox’s, in many ways, feels like a “realistic” take on what a cannibalistic serial killer might be like, while Hopkins’ plays the character with more theatricality. Plus, Mann’s directing and the synth-heavy score gives Manhunter a totally different and more stylish atmosphere to Silence of the Lambs.
Related
10 Unsettling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Silence Of The Lambs
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Which Hannibal performance is better will, of course, be a matter of personal preference, but Hopkins’ take on the character is sure to stand the test of time more effectively simply because of the acclaim he received for it at the time. In any case, it doesn’t seem like Cox and Hopkins will ever be comparing notes about their time as the iconic villain.
Source: THR
Hannibal
Based on the series of novels by Thomas Harris, Hannibal is a multimedia franchise that centers around the titular charismatic cannibalistic serial killer and the investigators who always remain one step behind him. The first film adaptation of the character came in 1986 with Manhunter, where Brian Cox took on the role, but since then, Anthony Hopkins and Mads Mikkelsen have taken their turns as the antagonist. Hannibal shot into mainstream success with the Oscar-winning The Silence of the Lambs in 1991 and its subsequent sequels until Bryan Fuller began his adaptation for television.
- Created by
- Thomas Harris
- Cast
- Brian Cox , Anthony Hopkins , Jodie Foster , Julianne Moore , William Petersen , Scott Glenn , Laurence Fishburne , Hugh Dancy , Ted Levine , Stephen Lang , Lara Jean Chorostecki
- Character(s)
- Hannibal Lecter , Clarice Starling , Will Graham , Jack Crawford , Frederick Chilton , Buffalo Bill , Freddy Lounds , Alana Bloom
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