Home / Arts and Entertainment / Actors' Chilling Chemistry: How Hopkins and Foster Terrified Each Other on 'Silence of the Lambs' Set
Actors' Chilling Chemistry: How Hopkins and Foster Terrified Each Other on 'Silence of the Lambs' Set
2 Nov
Summary
- Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster were scared of each other during filming
- Hopkins embraced Hannibal Lecter's dark persona, unsettling Foster
- The duo kept their distance but later bonded over their shared fear
In November 2025, it was revealed that Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster's acclaimed performances in the 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs were fueled by a mutual sense of unease. According to Hopkins' new memoir, the actors had an unusual relationship on set, with each feeling trepidation towards the other.
Hopkins recounted that he "instinctively sensed how to play" the iconic villain Hannibal Lecter, embracing the character's dark persona. During the first table read, he was "as scary as he could be," leaving Foster visibly tense. The actors mostly avoided each other throughout filming, but on their last day, they confessed their mutual fear.
"We had a big hug, and we both admitted to feeling a strange sense of distance during the shoot, due no doubt to the power of that script, which had us playing a cat-and-mouse game," Hopkins wrote. Their chilling on-screen chemistry ultimately paid off, with The Silence of the Lambs becoming a sleeper hit and winning multiple Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Hopkins.
