Movie star Anthony Hopkins was asked about former President Donald Trump’s apparent fixation on and repeated praise for the fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who Hopkins won an Oscar for portraying in the 1991 horror film “The Silence Of The Lambs.”
The cannibalistic Lecter has “come up a lot during this election campaign here in America” with Trump “speaking about him at his rallies as if he’s a real person,” Deadline’s Dominic Patten noted to Hopkins in an interview published Tuesday.
Trump, who is now the official GOP presidential nominee, has repeatedly referred to the character at rallies, usually during parts of his speeches when he demonizes immigrants.
“As if he is real?” Hopkins asked during a conversation that was ostensibly about his upcoming project “Those About To Die.”
“I didn’t know that,” Hopkins continued, reportedly while laughing. “Hannibal, that’s a long time ago that movie. God, that was over 30 years ago. I’m shocked and appalled what you’ve told me about Trump.”
“Sorry about that,” said Patten.
“Oh, it’s all right. I think we’re OK. I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’m sorry I can’t elaborate on stuff I do. I’ve always kept it, especially in later years, kept it very simple,” Hopkins replied.
Hopkins in 2018 expressed ambivalence toward Trump and politics in general. “I don’t vote because I don’t trust anyone,” the Guardian quoted him as saying.
In May, “Saturday Night Live” imagined Trump picking Lecter as his running mate: