Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins has described Hannibal Lecter as a once in a lifetime role.
Hopkins played Lecter for the first time back in 1991 in Silence of the Lambs - a role for which he received a Best Actor Oscar.
And the actor reveals that he was quick to take on the challenge when the script was given to him.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Tonight the actor said: "A script came over to the theatre one afternoon.
"My agent said read it, so I read it," he said. "Jonathan Demme came over, the director, he saw me and met me, and I started on it."
"I thought, 'This is one of those parts that come up once in a lifetime'. I just knew how to play that part.
"It's the shadow at the top of the stairs that terrifies all little kids. This nightmare of our lives."
Hopkins is back on the big screen later this month with his new movie The Rite before starring on one of the blockbusters of the year this summer.
He is set to play Odin in Thor, which is directed by Kenneth Williams.
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