Watch Anthony Hopkins Try on Different Masks for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Even though we’d like to imagine the look of a character happened through some “magical moment” where everything just came together perfectly, almost every character requires a lot of trial and error before finding a look that works. As illustrated in a wonderful scene in 1992’s Chaplin, it was certainly the case with the look of Charlie Chaplin’s character the Tramp, the most recognizable figure in film for decades, and it was true for Anthony Hopkins' Academy award-winning turn as Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs. The Criterion Collection released some footage earlier this year of Hopkins trying on different bite masks, including the one filmmakers settled on after adding a grill piece to it (very bottom image). The other masks hid his menacing, unblinking eyes too much, which is likely the reason why they went with the last mask. Thanks to io9 for the find!