Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter
Hannibal Lecter character
Four on-screen versions of Hannibal Lecter (clockwise from top left): Brian Cox, Anthony Hopkins, Mads Mikkelsen, and Gaspard Ulliel.
Created by	Thomas Harris
Portrayed by	Brian Cox (Manhunter) Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Red Dragon) Gaspard Ulliel (Hannibal Rising) Aaran Thomas (young; Hannibal Rising) Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal)
Information
Nickname(s)	Hannibal the Cannibal The Chesapeake Ripper
Aliases	Lloyd Wyman Dr. Fell Mr. Closter
Gender	Male
Occupation	Psychiatrist Surgeon (former)
Title	Dr. Hannibal Lecter Count Hannibal Lecter VIII
Relatives	Mischa Lecter (sister) Count Robert Lecter (uncle) Lady Murasaki (aunt-by-marriage)
Nationality	Lithuanian

Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a character in a series of suspense novels by Thomas Harris.

Lecter was introduced in the 1981 thriller novel Red Dragon as a forensic psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. The novel and its sequel, The Silence of the Lambs, feature Lecter as one of the primary antagonists after the two serial killers in both novels. In the third novel, Hannibal, Lecter becomes a protagonist. His role as the antihero occurs in the fourth novel, Hannibal Rising, which explores his childhood and development into a serial killer.

The first film adapted from the Harris novels was Manhunter (based on Red Dragon) which features Brian Cox as Lecter, spelled "Lecktor". In 1991, Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for his portrayal of the character in The Silence of the Lambs. He would reprise the role in Hannibal in 2001 and in a second adaptation of Red Dragon made in 2002 under the original title.

The NBC television series Hannibal debuted in 2013, and focuses on the development of the relationship between Lecter and Will Graham, an FBI profiler. In the series, Lecter is portrayed by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who won a Saturn Award for his performance.