Brian Cox: "I think I’m the best Hannibal Lecter there ever was"
Cox has suggested his subtle, "interior" Hannibal Lecter outshines Anthony Hopkins’ iconic take.
Some of our finest actors have portrayed novelist Thomas Harris's cannibal killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter – most notably Anthony Hopkins in three movies between 1991 and 2002 and Mads Mikkelsen in a 2013-15 television series.
But the first performer to bring the character to the screen – albeit credited as "Hannibal Lecktor" – was the Emmy-winning actor Brian Cox, who played the role in Michael Mann's 1986 cult classic film Manhunter.
The film – an adaptation of Harris's novel Red Dragon – was met with mixed reviews on initial release, but saw increased interest and critical reappraisal following Hopkins' turn in 1991's Silence of the Lambs.
Cox recently reflected on his performance as Lecter/Lecktor at an exclusive preview of 007: Road to a Million season 2 hosted by Prime Video and Radio Times (with the actor reprising his role as the nefarious Controller on the Prime Video series).
"It’s a wonderful film," he said of Manhunter.
"I think I’m the best Hannibal Lecter there ever was, because I play it internally – I don’t do any funny Chianti s**t… I don’t do any of that," Cox quipped, referring to the famous Silence of the Lambs scene in which Hopkins' Lecter recalls eating a victim's "liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti" before making a dramatic slurping noise.
Cox continued: "I play the guy as I think he really is.
"God bless [Hopkins], he did it very well – he got a lot of money out of it and he also got an Oscar [for Best Actor]. What can I argue about that?
"But at the same time, to me Hannibal Lecter is a much more internal guy than he is externally… he’s somebody who works from the interior out, not from the exterior in, and I think that’s the difference."
The Succession star went on to describe Hopkins as a "brilliant actor" and his take on the character "perfectly valid", adding: "There’s no question about Tony’s acting. But my view is… go in, not out. That’s the difference."
Hopkins would follow his award-winning Silence of the Lambs turn with two more appearances as Lecter in 2001 film Hannibal and a second screen adaptation of Red Dragon in 2002.
Cox's latest project, Prime Video's reality competition series 007: Road to a Million, sees his character set contestants a series of James Bond-inspired challenges in the hopes of winning a sizeable cash prize.
Cox recently spoke to Radio Times about the future of the Bond movie franchise and revealed his thoughts on who should replace Daniel Craig as 007 on the big-screen.
"There’s so much up for grabs in terms of redefining Bond and how you can bring him up to date," he said. "Is Cillian Murphy being recommended? I think that would be interesting. I like Cillian. He’s very real, he’s got no crap about him."
Read more: Brian Cox reveals which Succession character would win 007: Road to a Million
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
