The Silence of the Lambs (film) the "Playboy" centerfold." The Silence of the Lambs (film) The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American psychological horror-thriller film directed by Jonathan Demme from a screenplay written by Ted Tally, adapted from Thomas Harris's 1988 novel of the same name. The film stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, and Anthony Heald. In the film, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, seeks the advice of the imprisoned Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer to apprehend another serial killer, known only as "Buffalo Bill", who skins his female victims' corpses. The novel was
Jodie Foster in the film due to its violent content, but relented after governor Pat Brown intervened and a UCLA psychiatrist assessed her. A social worker was required to accompany her on set and her older sister Connie acted as her stand-in in sexually suggestive scenes. Foster later commented on the controversy saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to play Shirley Temple or someone's little sister." During the filming, Foster developed a close bond with co-star Robert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and