After ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ Anthony Hopkins Took on a Role Even Harder Than Hannibal Lecter — Earning Him His Second Oscar Nomination

It’s fairly ironic that someone who embodies gentlemanly etiquette like Anthony Hopkinswould reach the peak of his career by playing a cannibal. His performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambsis the kind that feels brand new every time you watch it, and it hasn’t lost an ounce of its extraterrestrial charm. Every choice he makes about Lecter is pristinely curated, with its individual elements combining to form an uncanny valley effect in its missing humanity. Hopkins may have received numerous accolades for this role, but it wasn’t his most challenging depiction of someone with a tragic lack of humanity. That honor would go to Remains of the Day, in which Hopkins gave a technically masterful performance in a scathing yet somber character study of a man who has divorced himself from everything he cared most about.