# Who would you cast as the new (TV version) of Hannibal Lecter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612 "2012-02-22T06:33:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/21 "2012-02-22T21:22:58Z")
Would Patrick Stewart want to return to episodic TV? He was scarily good in _Conspiracy Theory_ and the recent Stalinist-era retelling of _Macbeth_. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/22 "2012-02-22T21:28:07Z")
Addendum to my previous post: [Gaspard Ulliel](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0880484/) played the lead role in the _Hannibal Rising_, which was based on a novel that confirmed what I only suspected after reading _Hannibal_. Thomas Harris had become a hack. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/23 "2012-02-22T22:18:23Z")
Laurence Fishburne? Stretching a bit: Joel McHale? Casting awesomely against type: Drew Carey. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/24 "2012-02-22T22:19:54Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > You know, thinking of British actors, it just hit me who would be completely perfect. > > Stephen Fry. This would actually be absolutely right. I mean, _we_ think of Lecter as cold and frightening, because most of us first remember seeing him in his cage in “Silence of the Lambs.” But Will Graham wouldn’t see him that way at all - he liked, respected, and trusted Lecter. Fry is naturally an avuncular, warm sort, and can easily portray cultured and intelligent. If anyone can charm the audience right alongside Graham, it’s Fry. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/25 "2012-02-22T22:21:59Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > But Will Graham wouldn’t see him that way at all - he liked, respected, and trusted Lecter. Did you get that from the novel? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/26 "2012-02-22T23:50:33Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > But Will Graham wouldn’t see him that way at all - he liked, respected, and trusted Lecter. [Hannibal Lecter]Of course he does… we’re just alike, Will and I, both of us eidetekers but one of us with the courage of his convictions. Which one that is, that is a matter for an interesting debate.[/Hannibal Lecter] ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/27 "2012-02-23T00:44:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Did you get that from the novel? ISTR they had a cordial working relationship, but weren’t best buddies at any time. Sorry, but I think Stephen Fry is just too plump to convincingly play Lecter. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/28 "2012-02-23T01:39:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > ISTR they had a cordial working relationship, but weren’t best buddies at any time. > > Sorry, but I think Stephen Fry is just too plump to convincingly play Lecter. I recall that Will Graham was investigating him, saw a picture of “The Wounded Man” on the wall during an interview, \* knew\* that Lecter was the guy, and Lecter knifed him from behind while Graham was using a pay phone. From the novel. ISTR=? ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/29 "2012-02-23T01:53:59Z")
How about [Neal McDonough](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0568180/)? He can be menacing, and he has those creepy pale eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/30 "2012-02-23T03:59:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > …ISTR=? > **[Urban Dictionary: istr](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=istr)** > > Istre: \[a crazy\] awesome name of French \[decent\], pronounced ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/31 "2012-02-23T08:14:06Z")
> [@Seamack](#): > > Bryan Cranston… Plus, he’s secretly British! (He kiddingly claimed this in the DVD commentary fir Breaking Bad…I thought his joke was a hilarious little send-up of the trend we’ve seen in The Wire, House, et al.) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/32 "2012-02-23T15:30:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Did you get that from the novel? I think it was more from the Red Dragon remake - Graham shows up to Lecter’s house late to discuss his case, accepts the offer of a drink, seems to be confiding in the man. That’s not how you treat someone you have a merely decent working relationship with - Graham seemed to consider the man a friend, at least a work-friend. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/33 "2012-02-23T15:41:35Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > I think it was more from the Red Dragon remake - Graham shows up to Lecter’s house late to discuss his case, accepts the offer of a drink, seems to be confiding in the man. That’s not how you treat someone you have a merely decent working relationship with - Graham seemed to consider the man a friend, at least a work-friend. I was annoyed with… Ahem. A major difference in _Hannibal_ the film and novel is that Lecter doesn’t turn Starling and cuts his hand off to escape handcuffs. Lecter carried a paperclip for some period of time inside a pen refill tube in his cheek and picked handcuffs with it to escape in _Silence of the Lambs._ No need to amputate his hand. The plot change may have caused Harris to write a prequel, since there is now a divergence in the novels and movies. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/34 "2012-02-23T16:01:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I was annoyed with… > Ahem. > A major difference in _Hannibal_ the film and novel is that Lecter doesn’t turn Starling and cuts his hand off to escape handcuffs. Lecter carried a paperclip for some period of time inside a pen refill tube in his cheek and picked handcuffs with it to escape in _Silence of the Lambs._ No need to amputate his hand. Something I’ve wondered about that scene: are the links in a handcuff really harder to chop through than a hand? ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/35 "2012-02-23T16:14:19Z")
[Michael Sheen](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0790688/). Charming, until he bites your face off. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/36 "2012-02-23T16:18:17Z")
[Walton Groggins](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0324658/), better known as Boyd Crowder from Justified. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/37 "2012-02-23T18:41:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Something I’ve wondered about that scene: are the links in a handcuff really harder to chop through than a hand? So says [Mad Max.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2x8RhadlpA) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/38 "2012-02-23T20:58:10Z")
Hank Azaria ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/39 "2012-02-23T21:27:42Z")
We already know Ed Norton can play a lovable psychopath. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/40 "2012-02-23T23:10:49Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > How about [Neal McDonough](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0568180/)? He can be menacing, and he has those creepy pale eyes. This was my first thought. Although I like the idea of Michael Sheen too. Sheen seems to get enough movie roles not to need a long stint on the TeeVee. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612.md?page=3)