Anthony Hopkins is ‘shocked and appalled’ by Donald Trump’s obsession with Hannibal Lecter

Hollywood icon Anthony Hopkins was questioned about former President Donald Trump‘s seeming obsession with and frequent praise for the fictional character Hannibal Lecter, the role that earned Hopkins an Oscar in the 1991 thriller The Silence of the Lambs.

Deadline’s Dominic Patten mentioned to Hopkins in an interview released Tuesday that the cannibalistic Lecter has “come up a lot during this election campaign here in America” with Trump “speaking about him at his rallies as if he’s a real person.”

Trump, now the official Republican presidential candidate, has often referenced the character at rallies, typically when vilifying immigrants in his speeches.

“As if he is real?” Hopkins inquired during a chat about his upcoming project, “Those About To Die.”

“I didn’t know that,” Hopkins added, reportedly chuckling. “Hannibal, that’s a long time ago that movie. God, that was over 30 years ago. I’m shocked and appalled what you’ve told me about Trump.”

“Sorry about that,” Patten responded.

Gotta love Hopkins noting, “as if he is real?” To Anthony Hopkins and most of us, it’s notably strange that a political figure would name-check any fictional character—never mind refer to one of the most terrifying villains in film history as “the late, great Hannibal Lecter.”