The ongoing controversy over The Silence of the Lambs got a second wind this week when two members of the creative team expressed regret over the Academy Award-winning film’s portrayal of Buffalo Bill, a character some LGBTQ activists have denounced as transphobic.
Silence of the Lambs celebrated the 35th anniversary of its release over the weekend, but the occasion was marred by the film’s legacy regarding transgender issues. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter (THR) actor Ted Levine, who played Buffalo Bill, said “certain parts” of the movie do not hold up well.
“There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” Levine. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”
Levine said that he had no issues at the time with the script but now feels he has a better understanding of the transgender experience.
“[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s fucking wrong. And you can quote me on that.”
“I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a fucked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing,” he added.
While LGBTQ activists heavily criticized the film on its release for its portrayal of Buffalo Bill, the critics often overlook the fact that the movie features a line from the character Hannibal Lecter explicitly saying Bill “is not a real transexual, only he thinks he is.” Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling also says that Buffalo Bill’s behavior does not fit the profile of a real transexual.
Regardless, the film’s producer, Edward Saxon, expressed regret for the character.
“We were really loyal to the book,” Saxon said. “As we made the film, there was just no question in our minds that Buffalo Bill was a completely aberrant personality — that he wasn’t gay or trans. He was sick. To that extent, we missed it. From my point of view, we weren’t sensitive enough to the legacy of a lot of stereotypes and their ability to harm.”
“There’s regret, but it didn’t come from any place of malice. It actually came from a place of seeing this guy. We all had dear friends and family who were gay. We thought it would just be very clear that Buffalo Bill adapts different things from society, from a place of an incredibly sick pathology,” he added.