# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/41 "2012-02-23T23:37:29Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Murder is rare in the restaurant district… _\<\\>_ …medium rare. > _yeeaaAGHHHHH!!!_ nah. In Caruso’s mind, his next role should be as the BATMAN! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/42 "2012-02-24T00:24:15Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The first was of course [Manhunter,](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091474/) not the Anthony Hopkins version listed in the article. I had read _Red Dragon_ and _Silence of the Lambs_ well before the movie versions came out. I didn’t even know about the existence of \*Manhunter \* until I stumbled upon it in a rental store long after the release of _Silence of the Lambs_. I was eagerly watching it at home that day and during a scene where Lecter and Graham are talking my son walked in. He asked what I was watching and I told him, an old movie called \*Manhunter \*. He said, “I guess Anthony Hopkins has seen it too because he totally ripped off this guy for Hannibal Lecter in _Silence of the Lambs_.” He was very pleased with himself when he found out what I was watching. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/43 "2012-02-24T00:51:26Z")
[Brian Cox’s Lecter](http://youtu.be/miP_DtCW7Lo?t=5m53s) was less hypnotic and less sophisticated than Hopkins’, but just as believable and terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/44 "2012-02-24T01:07:27Z")
[Joseph Fiennes](http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=joseph+fiennes&qs=IM&form=QBIR&pq=joseph%2520fiennes&sc=8-14&sp=1&sk=#x0y3469)? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/45 "2012-02-24T16:29:48Z")
Neal McDonough was the first suggestion to make me squeal a little bit inside. I kinda expected someone to champion Garret Dillahunt too, but I don’t want _Raising Hope_ to go away. My suggestions: Kevin McKidd or Dominic West, seeming as how they’ll probably want to keep Lecter vaguely Mid-Atlantic in nature. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/46 "2012-02-25T03:45:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > 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=? Not him, a patient of his, [Wound Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_Man), probably from behind, in the stomach with a linoleum knife ([all here, spoilers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Graham#Profile)). It will be interesting to see if we get the _Manhunter_ and _Red Dragon_ book’s Will, who’s mentally on the edge because of his super-empathy (a month in the psych ward of Bethesda Naval hospital after he kills Garrett Jacob Hobbs) or _Red Dragon_ movie’s Will who’s . . . completely uninteresting. I expect to be very, very disappointed. ☹ CMC fnord! ---
**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 25, 2012, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/47 "2012-02-25T06:50:52Z")
Dominic Keating, who played Reed, the Security officer in _Star Trek Enterprise_, is another possibility. ---
**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 25, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/48 "2012-02-25T13:43:42Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Not him, a patient of his, [Wound Man](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wound_Man), probably from behind, in the stomach with a linoleum knife ([all here, spoilers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Graham#Profile)). > [@Spoiler](#): > > He notices that a victim with multiple stab wounds has a healed stab wound; according to his medical records, from a hunting accident five years previous. He tracks down the doctor who treated the victim in the emergency room, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, now a renowned psychiatrist, to see if he remembers any suspicious circumstances surrounding the patient. Lecter is polite and helpful but claims not to remember very much. Graham, not satisfied, returns to see the doctor in his office, and seeing some antique medical books, realizes that Lecter is the killer he seeks. Graham goes to Lecter’s outer office and makes a phone call to the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. Lecter, who has removed his shoes, sneaks up on Graham and slashes his abdomen with a linoleum knife, nearly disemboweling him. I thought the above is what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/49 "2012-02-25T13:52:02Z")
Seth McFarlane. ---
**Author:** ![breezman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@breezman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/breezman)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/50 "2012-02-25T14:22:06Z")
I don’t have any serious suggestions, but Stephen Root could make it a lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/51 "2012-02-25T14:26:38Z")
I’m perhaps too much in thrall by his performances as Moriarty and David Robert Jones on Fringe, but I can totally see [Jared Harris](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0364813/) in the role – though he’s perhaps a touch older than the OP stipulated. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/52 "2012-02-25T15:47:25Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I thought the above is what I said. Dude, you said “I recall” and I’m thinking “Yeah, that’s _basically_ it, couple of little details, but yeah”. The link was so everyone else could know that **carnivorousplant** and **crowmanyclouds** are the go to guys for everything Hannibal Lecter. . . . or is it Lect_o_r. 😉 I remembered it as Wound Man and a couple of clicks later “That’s what ya gotta love 'bout this place, read a thread about Hannibal Lecter, learn about [19th century art](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wounded_Man_%28painting%29)”. I really remembered the linoleum knife, it should have been a clue about Thomas Harris’s writing skills. Ever seen a linoleum knife in the moonlight [del]Will[/del] **carnivorousplant**? It’s really hard to clean all the forensic evidence off them, without ripping them apart. Lecter the renowned psychiatrist keeps, not a collection of easy to clean antique medical instruments but, a fucking linoleum knife in his office? :smack: It’s as bad as the Princeton student thing, a recipe for potato chip dip? :rolleyes: CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/53 "2012-03-22T23:52:02Z")
And the winner is… [Hugh Dancy](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hugh-dancy-hannibal-nbc-303422). ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/54 "2012-03-24T07:54:33Z")
Doesn’t that article actually say he’ll play Will Graham? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/55 "2012-03-24T08:15:22Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Doesn’t that article actually say he’ll play Will Graham? Yup. What about David Hyde Pierce? ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/56 "2012-03-24T15:23:36Z")
Is Gary Oldman too old? He does psycho pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/57 "2012-03-24T18:54:58Z")
I wonder if [Christopher Eccleston](http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2300000/Destro-christopher-eccleston-2378328-1800-1200.jpg) would be willing to return to a US series. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612/58 "2012-03-24T20:48:29Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I wonder if [Christopher Eccleston](http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/2300000/Destro-christopher-eccleston-2378328-1800-1200.jpg) would be willing to return to a US series. Excellent choice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-as-the-new-tv-version-of-hannibal-lecter/613612.md?page=2)