The Silence of the Lambs cast is led by Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Scott Glenn plays Jack Crawford, and Ted Levine plays Jame Gumb, the killer the FBI calls Buffalo Bill. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was directed by Jonathan Demme and opened in US theaters on February 14, 1991. Its supporting cast includes Anthony Heald, Brooke Smith, Diane Baker, Kasi Lemmons and Frankie Faison. If the film page is the menu, this page is the full seating plan, with every credited name and the character they play. The ensemble stands out for its awards record and for its links to the rest of the saga. Foster and Hopkins both won Academy Awards for these roles, and Hopkins returned as Lecter in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). Frankie Faison appears in Manhunter (1986), this film, Hannibal and Red Dragon. George A. Romero also turns up in an uncredited cameo.
| # | Actor | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jodie Foster | Clarice Starling |
| 2 | Anthony Hopkins | Dr. Hannibal Lecter |
| 3 | Scott Glenn | Jack Crawford |
| 4 | Ted Levine | Jame Gumb |
| 5 | Anthony Heald | Dr. Frederick Chilton |
| 6 | Brooke Smith | Catherine Martin |
| 7 | Diane Baker | Senator Ruth Martin |
| 8 | Kasi Lemmons | Ardelia Mapp |
| 9 | Frankie Faison | Barney |
| 10 | Tracey Walter | Lamar |
| 11 | Charles Napier | Lt. Boyle |
| 12 | Danny Darst | Sgt. Tate |
| 13 | Alex Coleman | Sgt. Pembry |
| 14 | Dan Butler | Roden |
| 15 | Paul Lazar | Pilcher |
| 16 | Ron Vawter | Paul Krendler |
| 17 | Roger Corman | FBI Director Hayden Burke |
| 18 | Lawrence A. Bonney | FBI Instructor |
| 19 | Lawrence T. Wrentz | Agent Burroughs |
| 20 | Don Brockett | Friendly Psychopath |
| 21 | Frank Seals Jr. | Brooding Psychopath |
| 22 | Stuart Rudin | Miggs |
| 23 | Maria Skorobogatov | Young Clarice |
| 24 | Jeffrie Lane | Clarice's Father |
Billing order from the film's credits (TMDB). Actors with a Cinvibe page and characters with a character page are linked.
Also in the cast: Leib Lensky (Mr. Lang), George 'Red' Schwartz (Mr. Lang's Driver), Jim Roche (TV Evangelist), James B. Howard (Boxing Instructor), Bill Miller (Mr. Brigham), Chuck Aber (Agent Terry), Gene Borkan (Oscar), Pat McNamara (Sheriff Perkins), Kenneth Utt (Dr. Akin), Adelle Lutz (TV Anchor Woman), Obba Babatundé (TV Anchor Man), George Michael (TV Sportscaster), Jim Dratfield (Sen. Martin's Aide), D. Stanton Miranda (1st Reporter), Rebecca Saxon (2nd Reporter), Cynthia Ettinger (Officer Jacobs), Brent Hinkley (Officer Murray), Steve Wyatt (Airport Flirt), David Early (Spooked Memphis Cop), Andre B. Blake (Tall Memphis Cop), Bill Dalzell (Distraught Memphis Cop), Chris Isaak (SWAT Commander), Daniel von Bargen (SWAT Communicator), Tommy Lafitte (SWAT Shooter), Josh Broder (EMS Attendant), Buzz Kilman (EMS Driver), Harry Northup (Mr. Bimmel), Lauren Roselli (Stacy Hubka), Lamont Arnold (Flower Delivery Man), John Hall (State Trooper (uncredited)), Ted Monte (FBI Agent (uncredited)), George A. Romero (FBI Agent in Memphis (uncredited)), John W. Iwanonkiw (Orderly (uncredited)), Robert W. Castle (Priest on Chilton's Plane (uncredited)), Chris McGinn (Autopsy Victim (uncredited)), Gary Goetzman (Guido Paonessa (uncredited)), Lynette Jenkins (Nurse (uncredited)), Jason Menz (Orderly (uncredited)), Edward Saxon (Benjamin Raspail (Head in a Jar) (uncredited)), Mike Schaeffer (Prison Guard (uncredited)), Ted Tally (SWAT Team Member (uncredited)), Lewis 'Jiggs' Walker (Man in Dashiki on Chilton's Plane (uncredited)).
Jodie Foster plays Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee sent to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter. She came to the role soon after her Oscar for The Accused (1988), and Anthony Hopkins told Good Morning America in 2021 that he was scared to speak to her. Foster told Variety that Clarice "had this quietness", a reserved manner she linked to the character's sense of shame, and she won Best Actress for the role.
Anthony Hopkins plays Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the jailed psychiatrist who trades clues for details of Clarice Starling's past. Hopkins told Variety in 2021 that he first took the script for a children's story, until he read about ten pages and called his agent to check that the offer was real. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor and returned as Lecter in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).
Scott Glenn plays Jack Crawford, the senior FBI agent who pulls Clarice Starling from her studies to help hunt Buffalo Bill. TMDB bills him third in the cast, behind Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins and ahead of Ted Levine. The credits list other FBI roles alongside his, including Roger Corman as FBI Director Hayden Burke and Lawrence A. Bonney as FBI Instructor.
Ted Levine plays Jame Gumb, the serial killer the FBI calls Buffalo Bill. Brooke Smith, who plays Catherine Martin, told Den of Geek in 2021 that Levine drew on his toddler's extreme moods, and that he came up with Gumb's dance himself because it was not in the script. TMDB bills him fourth in the cast, directly after Scott Glenn.
Anthony Heald plays Dr. Frederick Chilton, the doctor in charge of the hospital that holds Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He is one of the few people in this cast who returns later in the saga, because TMDB credits him as Dr. Chilton again in Red Dragon (2002). That return puts him alongside Anthony Hopkins and Frankie Faison, who also appear in that film.
Brooke Smith plays Catherine Martin, the senator's daughter abducted by Jame Gumb. She told Den of Geek in 2021 that she never auditioned. She said Jonathan Demme's first question was why she would ever want the part, and that the role required her to gain 25 pounds. Michelle Pfeiffer, a friend of her family, had told Demme about her.
Diane Baker plays Senator Ruth Martin, the mother of the abducted Catherine Martin. She brought a long screen career to the part: her TMDB credits go back to The Diary of Anne Frank (1959), where she played Margot Frank, and include Marnie (1964). Brooke Smith plays her daughter, and Jim Dratfield is credited as Sen. Martin's Aide.
Kasi Lemmons plays Ardelia Mapp, the friend and fellow FBI Academy trainee of Clarice Starling. Her TMDB credits from this period include School Daze (1988) and Candyman (1992). The film came a few years before she moved into directing, and her later directing credits include Eve's Bayou (1997), Harriet (2019) and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022).
Frankie Faison plays Barney, the orderly who keeps watch over Dr. Hannibal Lecter. His TMDB credits run through the saga. He played Lt. Fisk in Manhunter (1986), then returned as Barney Matthews in Hannibal (2001) and as Barney in Red Dragon (2002), which gives him four films in the series.
Tracey Walter plays Lamar, one of the smaller credited parts. He worked with Jonathan Demme many times. TMDB lists him in Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004), and all five films are on Demme's TMDB directing list. Walter is one of several Demme regulars in the supporting roles.
Charles Napier plays Lt. Boyle, one of the police roles. Of the Jonathan Demme regulars named on this page, he has the most shared films. TMDB credits him in Citizens Band (1977), Last Embrace (1979), Melvin and Howard (1980), Swing Shift (1984), Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), Philadelphia (1993) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).
Danny Darst plays Sgt. Tate, one of the police roles in the film. TMDB credits him in two more Jonathan Demme films, Swing Shift (1984) and The Manchurian Candidate (2004). His TMDB list also includes a music credit on Rattlesnake in a Cooler (1982) alongside his acting work, so not all of his credits are on screen.
Jonathan Demme built The Silence of the Lambs cast around Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, then filled several supporting roles with actors he had directed before. Foster arrived soon after her Oscar for The Accused (1988), and Hopkins told Good Morning America in 2021 that he was scared to speak to her. He told Variety the same year that he took the script for a children's story until about ten pages in, when he called his agent to check that the offer was real.
Charles Napier, Tracey Walter and Danny Darst all appear in other films on Demme's TMDB directing list, a bit like a band bringing its usual session players to a new record. Brooke Smith got her part without an audition, and Michelle Pfeiffer, a friend of her family, had told Demme about her. Two of the producers also stepped in front of the camera, since producer Kenneth Utt is credited as Dr. Akin and executive producer Gary Goetzman has an uncredited role as Guido Paonessa. George A. Romero has an uncredited cameo, which TMDB lists as FBI Agent in Memphis.
For the plot, the awards and the ending, see the main guide to the silence of the lambs.
Anthony Hopkins, Frankie Faison and Anthony Heald all appear again later in the saga, and most of this cast is new to the franchise. Manhunter (1986), directed by Michael Mann, came first with a largely different cast. Frankie Faison links the two films, because TMDB credits him as Lt. Fisk in Manhunter and as Barney here, a role he played again in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).
So, what did each returning actor play? Anthony Hopkins returned as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in both later films, and Anthony Heald returned as Dr. Chilton in Red Dragon. Jodie Foster has no TMDB credit in Hannibal, so another actor played Clarice Starling there. To see every film and who appears in each, the hannibal movies hub lists all five in release order.
| Director | Jonathan Demme |
|---|---|
| Writers | Ted Tally |
| Producers | Kenneth Utt, Edward Saxon, Ron Bozman |
| Music | Howard Shore |
| Cinematography | Tak Fujimoto |
Anthony Hopkins played Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). He told Variety that he first took the script for a children's story, until he read about ten pages and called his agent to check that the offer was real. Hopkins won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the ceremony on March 30, 1992. He returned as Lecter in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).
Jodie Foster played Clarice Starling, the FBI trainee at the center of the story. She came to the role soon after winning an Oscar for The Accused (1988). She won Best Actress for The Silence of the Lambs, which was one of the film's five Academy Awards along with Best Picture, Director, Actor and Adapted Screenplay.
Ted Levine played Buffalo Bill, the name the FBI gives the serial killer Jame Gumb, in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Brooke Smith, who plays Catherine Martin, told Den of Geek in 2021 that Levine drew on his toddler's extreme moods for the part. She also said that he came up with Gumb's dance himself, because it was not in the script.
The main villain in The Silence of the Lambs is Jame Gumb, the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, played by Ted Levine. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, is a jailed murderer, but he helps the investigation in exchange for details of Clarice Starling's past. Levine is billed fourth in the TMDB credits, after Jodie Foster, Hopkins and Scott Glenn.
Yes, George A. Romero has an uncredited cameo in The Silence of the Lambs, and TMDB lists his role as FBI Agent in Memphis. Two of the film's producers also appear on screen. Executive producer Gary Goetzman has an uncredited role as Guido Paonessa, and producer Kenneth Utt is credited as Dr. Akin.
No, only part of the cast returned for Hannibal (2001). According to TMDB credits, Anthony Hopkins came back as Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Frankie Faison as Barney Matthews, but Jodie Foster has no credit in that film. Anthony Heald returned as Dr. Chilton later, in Red Dragon (2002).
Buffalo Bill's dog in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), directed by Jonathan Demme, is Precious, played by a Bichon Frise named Darla.
Hannibal TV show season 4 has no confirmed renewal or release date as of November 11, 2026.
Red Dragon by Thomas Harris is the 1981 crime novel that introduced Hannibal Lecter.