More than three decades after The Silence of the Lambs won the big five at the Oscars, one rumor refuses to die: that stars Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster clashed—or at least kept a frosty distance—on set. The myth has morphed over the years into a grab bag of alleged “feud” details, usually tied to Hopkins’ unsettling performance as Hannibal Lecter and the idea that Foster avoided him between takes to protect her headspace as Clarice Starling. Hopkins took a moment from his busy 2025 movie schedule to finally weigh in on the rumor.
Anthony Hopkins recently appeared on an episode of The Armchair Expert podcast with Dax Shepard. During the conversation, Hopkins addressed the long-circulating chatter head-on, saying the vibe with his co-star was professional and decidedly not "spooky." It’s as definitive a correction as we’ve had in years, and it comes straight from Lecter himself. As he explains it:
