Michelle Pfeiffer Turned Down SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Because It Was Too Evil
Jodie Foster won an Oscar as Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. But director Jonathan Demme originally wanted Michelle Pfeiffer (Batman Returns) for the role. But today, the actress admits she turned it down because it was “too evil.”
She tells The New Yorker: “With The Silence of the Lambs, I was trepidatious. There was such evil in that film. The thing I most regret is missing the opportunity to do another film with Jonathan [Demme]. It was that evil won in the end, that at the end of that film evil ruled out. I was uncomfortable with that ending. I didn’t want to put that out into the world.”
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Oh, well. Her loss.
As mentioned above, Jodie Foster took on the role in the final film. It follows Starling, a top student at the FBI’s training academy, tasked to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins). Lecter is a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. The cops believe that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
The film sports a 96% approval rating over on Rotten Tomatoes. The Critics Consensus reads: Director Jonathan Demme’s smart, taut thriller teeters on the edge between psychological study and all-out horror, and benefits greatly from stellar performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.
Would you have liked to see Pfeiffer as Clarice in Silence of the Lambs?
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