The Silence of the Lambs actor shares regret over ‘f***ing wrong’ transgender portrayal

The Silence of the Lambs actor, Ted Levine, has candidly discussed his regret over a 'f*cking wrong' transgender portrayal in the box-office smash-hit.

Levine, 68, starred as Buffalo Bill in the 1991 crime-horror movie, which also featured Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.

While Buffalo Bill's sexual orientation is not explicitly stated, it has been widely regarded as gender nonconforming and identifying as trans.

The film centres on Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee tasked with tracking down serial killer Jame 'Buffalo Bill' Gumb, who has been abducting and murdering young women, removing their skin as part of his crimes.

The story later reveals that Gumb was turned away by several gender-reassignment clinics on the grounds of psychological instability, and has begun stealing women’s skin in an attempt to realise his desire to transition.

LGBTQ+ outlet Pink News explains that, over the decades, critics have blasted the film as one of the most 'significant and impactful examples of pop culture transmisogyny', arguing that it encourages audiences to reject trans people’s 'self-identification'.

In her coming out statement, filmmaker Lily Wachowski condemned it for 'demonising and vilifying' trans women, adding: "We are not predators, we are prey."

The Silence of the Lambs star Ted Levine has addressed the backlash over his Buffalo Bill portrayal (Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic)

Levine has now publicly addressed the backlash.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview published last week (14 February), Heat star Levine acknowledged: "There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well.

"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."

While Buffalo Bill's sexual orientation is not explicitly stated, it has been widely regarded as gender nonconforming and identifying as trans (Orion Pictures)

The actor admitted that he didn't have such concerns when making the film, but has since gained a better understanding of the trans experience over the years since its release.

"[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 explained.

"It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s f*cking wrong. And you can quote me on that."

The 1991 cult horror film raked in a staggering $272.7 million at the box office (Orion Pictures)

Directly addressing his portrayal of the character, Levine clarified: "I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f*cked-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing."

Despite the controversy surrounding the cult-classic horror flick, it seems that Levine has happy memories working alongside the film's director, Jonathan Demme.

"Jonathan’s a wonderful, wonderful man," he resolved. "And the movie was a great experience - probably the best I ever had on a film."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]