The Silence of the Lambs (film) American Film Institute named Hannibal Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) the number one film villain of all time and Clarice Starling (as portrayed by Foster) the sixth-greatest film hero of all time. In 2011, ABC aired a prime-time special, "", that counted down the best films chosen by fans based on results of a poll conducted by ABC and "People" magazine. "The Silence of the Lambs" was selected as the 1 Best Suspense/Thriller and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was selected as the 4 Greatest Film Character. The film and its characters have appeared in the following AFI "100 Years" lists: In
Jodie Foster in England and co-starred veteran actors David Niven and Helen Hayes. After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned eighteen. She gained positive notices for her performances in Adrian Lyne's debut feature film "Foxes" (1980), which focuses on the lives of Los Angeles teenagers, and "Carny" (1980), in which she played a waitress who runs away from her former life by joining a touring carnival. Aware that child stars are often unable to successfully continue their careers into adulthood, Foster became a full-time student at Yale in fall 1980, and her