Hannibal Rising - Gaspard Ulliel interview
Compiled by Jack Foley
YOUNG French actor Gaspard Ulliel about following in the footsteps of Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal Rising and how he attempted to bring some humanity to one of cinema’s greatest serial killers…
Were you surprised to be invited to play the younger version of a character played in the past by the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox?
Gaspard Ulliel: Obviously, I was very surprised when they came to me because this role is very far from me in real life. But it’s the work of an actor to try to create different characters, and I knew that it would be very interesting to work on this character as he’s very complex and deep.
It’s also a very popular character, so I knew there would be a lot of expectation from the audience. I could feel the pressure and I was a bit scared at the beginning. Also, the fact that it was completely in English, coming after Anthony Hopkins and Brian Cox, made me a bit hesitant at the beginning.
What changed your mind?
Gaspard Ulliel: It was when I met Peter Webber, the director. He asked for a proper screen test, and I really enjoyed the way he helped me work through that. The work we did together was very enjoyable. I could see that he was very confident with the project, very motivated and that he would help me throughout the whole experience. Also, I felt that it was a nice idea to pick someone like this to direct the film, which is very different from Girl With A Pearl Earring [his previous film]. So I think he was very important in my decision to do the film.
How easy was it to achieve continuity, so that the character would recognisably be the man we know from previous films?
Gaspard Ulliel: It’s very important. I knew the audience would look for some similarities with Anthony Hopkins. But Peter told me at the beginning that this film was different – it’s a different treatment, a different history, taking place in another time and the character is much younger. He hasn’t experienced everything that the older Lecter had.
I was a bit more free to create my own character. I think it would be wrong to imitate or copy Anthony Hopkins and that’s not interesting to do [as an actor]. So, instead I tried to pick a few details in his performance and then digest it and mix it to my own recipe and then add it to my own character. I tried to put a few things in that would announce the future behaviour of the older Hannibal Lecter.
The interesting thing in this film is that as Hannibal seeks revenge for what was done to his sister we are on his side for much of the time, aren’t we?
Gaspard Ulliel: I think that was the whole point of the film, to build this character slowly to a crescendo.Of course, we tried to give a more human aspect to the character, to make him look more sympathetic and to try to seduce the audience. As far as we know he’s a monster and he’s going to do horrible things. We really tried to keep the audience on his side, but little by little he is drifting away and becomes less and less human.
Was there anything that you felt was grisly even to perform?
Gaspard Ulliel: Not really, because you’re in character and concentrating on his feelings, so you can’t really feel those disgusting moments. The only bit that was a little disturbing was the moment where I take a bite from one of the character’s cheeks. I arrived on set and the prosthetic had already been applied, so I couldn’t see it.
Obviously, if I was very close I could see the false cheek, but it was very realistic. Then they asked me to take a bite during the first take and it was very weird. I didn’t know how much “flesh” I had to take, because I didn’t want to hurt the actor. I tried it and it felt so real, the texture was the same as real skin. I think they used silicone or something like that. I had to pull very hard to tear it apart.
Are you likely to reprise this character in any future films?
Gaspard Ulliel: The idea suits me quite well because I took a lot of pleasure working on this role and it’s a bit addictive to work on the character. It’s very interesting. I don’t know if there’ll be another film. It depends on the script and what the character does.
Read our review of Hannibal Rising
Read our interview with Peter Webber
This article is very good and the film is great. Gaspard Ulliel is an wonderful actor. In the one scene, were the man told Hannibal that he ate his sister too… The look of Gaspard Ulliel/ Hannibal was so scared and horrible, all the rage and the sadness! Great…
— Isabelle Golz Mar 3 #