Editing Hannibal Lecter (section)

{{Short description|Character created by Thomas Harris}}
{{About|the character|the franchise|Hannibal Lecter (franchise){{!}}''Hannibal Lecter'' (franchise)}}
{{Redirect|Hannibal the Cannibal|the real-life serial killer given this nickname|Robert Maudsley}}
{{Redirect|Dr. Lecter|the Action Bronson album|Dr. Lecter (album)}}
{{Infobox character
| series             = [[Hannibal Lecter (franchise)|Hannibal Lecter]]
| image              = Hannibal Lecter in_Silence of the Lambs.jpg
| caption            = [[Anthony Hopkins]] as Lecter in 1991's ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]''
| first              = ''[[Red Dragon (novel)|Red Dragon]]'' (1981)
| creator            = [[Thomas Harris]]
| portrayer          = {{ubl|[[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]] (''[[Manhunter (film)|Manhunter]]'')|[[Anthony Hopkins]] (''[[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'', ''[[Hannibal (2001 film)|Hannibal]]'', ''[[Red Dragon (2002 film)|Red Dragon]]'')|[[Gaspard Ulliel]] (''[[Hannibal Rising (film)|Hannibal Rising]]'')|Aaran Thomas (young; ''Hannibal Rising'')|[[Mads Mikkelsen]] (''[[Hannibal (TV series)|Hannibal]]'')}}
| nickname           = {{ubl|Hannibal the Cannibal|The Chesapeake Ripper}}
| nationality        = [[Lithuanian Americans|Lithuanian-American]]
| alias              = {{ubl|Lloyd Wyman|Dr. Fell|Mr. Closter}}
| gender             = Male
| occupation         = {{ubl|[[Psychiatrist]]|[[Surgeon]] (former)}}
| family             = {{ubl|Count Lecter (father)|Simonetta Lecter ([[née#Maiden and married names|née]] [[Sforza]]) (mother)|Mischa Lecter (younger sister)}}
| title              = {{ubl|Dr. Hannibal Lecter|[[Count]] Hannibal Lecter VIII}}
| relatives          = {{ubl|Count Robert Lecter (uncle)|Lady Murasaki (aunt-by-marriage)|Balthus (cousin)<ref>{{cite web |first=Eugen|last=Weber|title=Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-20-bk-48200-story.html |website=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=20 June 1999 |access-date=4 March 2022}}</ref>}}
| significant_others = {{ubl|Lady Murasaki|Rachel DuBerry|[[Clarice Starling]] (novels)|Alana Bloom (TV series)|[[Will Graham (character)|Will Graham]] (TV series)|[[Bedelia Du Maurier]] (TV series)<!-- Per discussion, "Will Graham" is presently to be included and further discussion is open. -->}}
}}
'''Dr. Hannibal Lecter''' is a character created by American novelist [[Thomas Harris]]. Lecter is a [[human cannibalism|cannibalistic]] [[serial killer]] and former [[Forensic psychiatry|forensic psychiatrist]]; after his incarceration, he is consulted by [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] agents [[Will Graham (character)|Will Graham]] and [[Clarice Starling]] to help them find other serial killers.

Lecter first appeared in a small role as a [[villain]] in Harris' 1981 [[thriller (genre)|thriller]] novel ''[[Red Dragon (novel)|Red Dragon]]'', which was adapted into the film [[Manhunter (film)|''Manhunter'']] (1986), with [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]] as Lecter (spelled "Lecktor"). Lecter had a larger role in ''[[The Silence of the Lambs (novel)|The Silence of the Lambs]]'' (1988); the [[The Silence of the Lambs (film)|1991 film adaptation]] starred [[Anthony Hopkins]] as Lecter, for which he won the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]]. Hopkins reprised the role for the [[Hannibal (2001 film)|2001 adaptation]] of the 1999 novel ''[[Hannibal (Harris novel)|Hannibal]],'' which sees Lecter evading recapture, and for a [[Red Dragon (2002 film)|second adaptation of ''Red Dragon'']] in 2002.

The fourth novel, ''[[Hannibal Rising]]'' (2006), explores Lecter's childhood and development into a serial killer. He was played in the [[Hannibal Rising (film)|2007 film adaptation]] by [[Gaspard Ulliel]]. In the [[NBC]] television series ''[[Hannibal (TV series)|Hannibal]]'' (2013''–''2015), which focuses on Lecter's relationship with Graham, Lecter was played by [[Mads Mikkelsen]], who won the [[Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television]] for his performance.

In 2003, Lecter, as portrayed by Hopkins, was named the [[AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains|greatest villain in American cinema]] by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref name="AFI's 100 Heroes & Villains">{{cite web | url= http://www.filmsite.org/afi100heroesvilla.html | title=AFI's 100 Heroes & Villains |date=June 2003 | work=American Film Institute | access-date=2007-02-12 }}</ref> In 2010, ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' named him one of the 100 greatest characters of the preceding 20 years.<ref name="Vary">{{cite magazine |first=Adam B.|last=Vary|title=The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's our full list! |url=http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/01/100-greatest-characters-of-last-20-years-full-list/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=June 1, 2010|access-date=July 7, 2012}}</ref> In 2019, Lecter, as portrayed by Mikkelsen, was named the 18th greatest villain in television history by ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/40-greatest-tv-villains-of-all-time-26500/hannibal-lecter-hannibal-24800/ | title=40 Greatest TV Villains of All Time | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=September 4, 2019 | access-date=January 1, 2020}}</ref>