The transgender community’s condemnation of The Silence of the Lambs has led several of its cast to acknowledge its complex history.
Jodie Foster played FBI rookie Clarice Starling in the film version of novelist Thomas Harris’ highest-selling book, which follows her as she hunts down Buffalo Bill, a serial killer who skinned his female victims. She confers with Anthony Hopkins’s character, Hannibal Lecter, a condemned cannibal and chianti enthusiast, to comprehend her objective.
Buffalo Bill’s sexual orientation isn’t addressed clearly, but throughout time, his portrayal has been seen as nonconforming genders and transgender. Despite the film’s success, Ted Levine, who portrayed the character known as Jame Gumb, has conflicting opinions about it.
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” Levine, who has never previously addressed pushback surrounding Buffalo Bill, added to The Hollywood Reporter. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
Levine had no worries while filming, but in the decades that followed, he gained an expanded awareness of the trans condition. He added, “[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender. It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s fucking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
Regarding his performance, Levine explains, “I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a fucked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing.”
Over the years, The Silence of the Lambs has had a consistent presence in popular culture, and Hannibal Lecter has been named the film’s best villain. Donald Trump mentioned Hannibal Lecter in relation to migrants amid his 2024 presidential campaign, and he also referred to the persona as “a wonderful man.”
