10 Best Acting Performances In The Hannibal Lecter Trilogy

Gary Oldman appears in 2001’s Hannibal as the paralysed disfigured millionaire Mason Verger. He was a former patient of Lecter’s, due to being convicted of child abuse, and during an event in his house, he was drugged by the cannibal and forced to use a broken mirror to remove his own face. This incident left Verger with a broken neck and horrific facial scarring.

Due to the character of Verger being paralysed, Oldman is motionless for most of his scenes, being able to use nothing but his voice to give life to the character. Oldman gives him a unique voice to lean into the characters physical weakness. This is particularly noticeable when he converses with Julianne Moore’s Clarice Starling near the start of the film where, for a considerable amount of the scene, he simply monologues to Starling, his voice the only audible presence.

Oldman is also totally unrecognisable behind heavy makeup and prosthetics, his right eye clamped open to portray the disfigured Verger. This combination of makeup and voice is what truly makes such an inhuman character come to life on screen, and Oldman’s dedication to the role is visually, and audibly, apparent in each of his scenes.