Anthony Hopkins ‘shocked and horrified’ by Trump-Hannibal Lecter News

Movie star Anthony Hopkins was asked about former President Donald Trump’s apparent fixation and repeated praise for fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter, who won Hopkins an Oscar for his role in the 1991 horror film “The Silence Of The Lambs.”

The cannibalistic Lecter has “come up a lot during this election campaign here in America,” with Trump “talking about him at his rallies as if he were a real person,” Deadline’s Dominic Patten noted to Hopkins in an interview published on Tuesday.

Trump, who is now the Republican Party’s official presidential candidate, has repeatedly referenced the character at rallies, usually during parts of his speeches in which he demonizes immigrants.

“Like he’s real?” Hopkins asked during a conversation ostensibly about his upcoming project ‘Those About To Die’.

“I didn’t know that,” Hopkins continued, reportedly laughing. ‘Hannibal, it’s been a long time since that movie. God, that was over 30 years ago. I am shocked and appalled by what you told me about Trump.”

“Sorry about that,” Patten said.

“Oh, it’s okay. I think we’re doing well. I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’m sorry I can’t elaborate on the things I do. I always kept it, especially in later years, very simple,” Hopkins replied.

Hopkins expressed his ambivalence toward Trump and politics in general in 2018. “I don’t vote because I don’t trust anyone,” said the Guardian quoted him as he said.

In May, “Saturday Night Live” imagined Trump choosing Lecter as his running mate: