10 Crazy Cinema Doctors You Would Not Want As Your GP

1. Hannibal Lecter - Various Movies

Mainly known for being portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Hannibal put in his first film appearance in Manhunter, but it wasn't until 1991's Silence of the Lambs when Hopkins won an Oscar for his portrayal of Lecter that his legend was cemented. The American Film Institute voted him their number one villain and it is not hard to see why. Charming and charismatic, erudite and possessing stratospheric intelligence which makes him several steps ahead of everyone else, Lecter is a seductive character. Unfortunately he is also a cannibalistic serial killer who would tear your face off in one bite. Thankfully, he is a psychiatrist and not a GP, but pity the poor mentally ill people who have been under his care. Apparently traumatised by the murder and cannibalism of his beloved sister Mischa in Lithuania 1944 by the Hilfswillige - this was offered up in a few of the films as a reason as to why Lecter is a raving sociopath. But although sociopathic, Lecter hides this nasty streak with a veneer of culture and sophistication. He makes gourmet dishes out of his victims flesh. He has a bête noir for ignorant and crude people, who if they get into his vicinity, he will kill them. Prior to his arrest, he was a member of the Baltimore elite. He is prone to escaping incarceration, so he is under constant surveillance. If he is brought out of his cell, he is straightjacketed and masked, he is that dangerous. My favourite moment of Hannibal Lecter film mayhem is in Hannibal, in which Lecter tries to manipulate Clarice into believing she is her sister and he captures corrupt Justice Department agent Paul Krendler (Clarice's nemesis) cracks open his head, lobotomises him and removes his prefrontal cortex which Lecter sautés with shallots and feeds to Krendler. This is so off the wall and disgusting, it tickles me pink.