Clarice Starling Clarice Starling Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character who appears in the novels "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal" by Thomas Harris. In the film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs", she was played by Jodie Foster, while in the film adaptation of "Hannibal", she was played by Julianne Moore. Clarice Starling, as portrayed by Foster, was ranked the sixth greatest protagonist in film history on AFI's "100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains", making her the highest-ranking heroine. In 1991, for her portrayal of Starling she also received the Academy Award for Best Actress. In "The Silence of
Jodie Foster (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer, Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites. She had read the novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights, as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain." Despite her enthusiasm, director Jonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him. Demme's view of Foster changed during the