Jeremy Irons has admitted that he does not regret turning down the role of Hannibal Lector.
The role eventually went to Anthony Hopkins for the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs, it still remains his most famous character, which won him a Best Actor Academy Award.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph the actor said: "I like doing edgy things, but at the time I had just done Dead Ringers and was about to star in Reversal of Fortune.
"I thought I just can't do it; I'm already too far down this road. And when I saw what Tony Hopkins had done, I thought, thank Christ I didn't do it."
The British actor has had a very successful career with the likes of Reversal of Fortune, which brought him his own Oscar in 1990, and The French Lieutenant's Woman under his belt Iron is still critical of his performances.
"All right, some things have been admired. You think, okay, but I'm not that great. Film wise, I invariably look at my work and reckon I could have done it better.
"I'm also conscious that I'm in a profession where we get more praise than we should compared to the usefulness of what we do."
The actor is all set to return to TV with new series The Borgias.
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