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
Hannibal (film) as James Bond for instance? A character who is replaceable?' Or was Jodie Foster Clarice Starling, and the audience will not accept anyone else?" Foster said in December 1999 that the characterization of Starling in "Hannibal" had "negative attributes" and "betrayed" the original character. Foster's spokeswoman said the actress declined because Claire Danes had become available for Foster's own project, "Flora Plum". Salary demands may also have played a part in Foster's non-participation. De Laurentiis said, "I call the agent of Judy [sic] Foster. He say to me 'I have instruction. She no want to read the script if you