Hannibal Season 2: 10 Reasons You Should Be Watching

3. Mads Mikkelsen Is The Perfect Hannibal Lecter

Let me say this first: There is no performance that will ever top Anthony Hopkins. His portrayal of Dr. Lecter is the definitive version of the movie psychopath, as well as one of the most effective antagonists of all time. That being said, Mads Mikkelsen's performance is the closest anyone could ever come to portraying this character as well as Hopkins did. Whereas the Hopkins version of Dr. Lecter was impressive for how honest he was about his nature, the Mikkelsen Lecter is a much more deceptive character. Throughout the entire first season, he is hiding behind a mask - a difficult thing for any actor to play convincingly, but Mads lets just enough of the character's emotional detachment shine through that he is believable as the complete psychopath the fans of the movie series or novels are familiar with. The Danish actor can sell Dr. Lecter perfectly as a person who is very good at pretending to be human, but just isn't. There are only a handful of moments in the first season in which Hannibal the Cannibal is completely honest, and they land harder because of their paucity. The most effective one of them (which I will not spoil) comes in the second to last episode of the season, when he reveals his motivation behind all his actions for the entire season, and it is both shockingly simple and a devilishly perfect fit for the character.