What did Donald Trump say about Hannibal Lecter? Anthony Hopkins "shocked and appalled" by ex-president's fixation over fictional serial killer

Veteran actor Anthony Hopkins revealed how he felt about Donald Trump referencing his cannibalistic serial killer character Hannibal Lecter from the 1991 flick The Silence of the Lambs in various campaign speeches. In an interview with Deadline published on July 16, 2024, Hopkins was surprised that the Republican nominee kept referencing the infamous character like a real person in his speeches, saying,

"I didn’t know that. 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."

This interview came just a day before Donald Trump brought up Hannibal Lector again during his speech at the Republic National Convention on July 18, saying,

“You know, the press is always on me because I say this. Has anyone seen Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter. He’d love to have you for dinner. That’s insane asylums, they’re emptying out their insane asylums.”

In his speeches, Trump often brought up Lecter to compare the killer and migrants crossing borders to vilify immigrants, alleging that countries "emptied out their mental institutions into the United States."

Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a fictional character created by Thomas Harris for his 1981 thriller novel, Red Dragon. Lecter, written as a cannibalistic serial killer and brilliant psychologist, was first portrayed on screen by Brian Cox in the 1986 movie Manhunter.

The character entered mainstream media when Anthony Hopkins embodied the role in The Silence of the Lambs in 1991, adapted from Harris' 1988 novel of the same name. Hopkins, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for the role in 1992, reprised the character in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).

Mads Mikkelson is the most recent actor to have played Hannibal Lecter in the television series Hannibal from 2013 to 2015.

Do you think you can guess the superhero by emoji alone? Take our Nonstop Quiz Challenge to find out:

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Other times Donald Trump mentioned Hannibal Lecter

According to Intelligencer, Donald Trump brought up Lecter during a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey in May 2024, praising the fictional serial killer for being a "wonderful man."

He even referenced one of Anthony Hopkins' most memorable lines from The Silence of the Lambs, where Hannibal Lecter tells Special Agent Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, "I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner."

The line refers to Lecter's intent to cannibalize the psychiatric warden who imprisoned him. In his speech in Wildwood, Trump said,

"Silence of the Lamb! Has anyone ever seen the Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner as this poor doctor walked by. I’m about to have a friend for dinner."

"But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country."

In a March interview in Florida, he once again compared the serial killer and immigrants in the United States, adding that the latter were allegedly "rough people" from "jails, prisons, mental institutions and insane asylums" like Hannibal Lecter.

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Donald Trump's faux pas during an Iowa rally speech

In a rally in Iowa in October 2023, Donald Trump was confused between Anthony Hopkins and the fictional character of Lecter, saying, "Hannibal Lecter, how great an actor was he?”

“You know why I like him? Because he said on television on one of the – ‘I love Donald Trump.’ So I love him. I love him. I love him. He said that a long time ago and once he said that, he was in my camp, I was in his camp. I don’t care if he was the worst actor, I’d say he was great to me.”

However, Anthony Hopkins has never publically supported Donald Trump, and neither have the other actors who played the serial killer. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Hopkins added he doesn't vote because he doesn't trust anyone.

Brian Cox, known for portraying Logan Roy in HBO's Succession, branded Donald Trump "an idiot" and a "f***ing a**hole" in previous interviews, adding that he would "probably" leave the country if Trump won the November elections during an April 2024 interview with Clive Myrie at HitFest.