Silence of the Lambs Star Reflects on Film’s Transphobia 35 Years On

The Silence of the Lambs made history in 1991, sweeping the Oscars and dominating the box office. It remains a milestone in the big-screen thriller, but from its release it drew controversy over depictions of violence, misogyny and its attitude toward the transgender community.

Ted Levine played Jame Gumb—"Buffalo Bill"—a sadistic serial killer who trapped young women and skinned them to assemble a "woman suit." Some LGBT critics have called the film transmisogynistic, arguing that Gumb functions as a cruel caricature of a trans woman.

In a new interview Levine said, "I didn’t play him as being gay or trans. I think he was just a f***ed-up heterosexual man. That’s what I was doing." The screenplay itself has Hannibal Lecter declare that Gumb is "not a real transsexual." Levine acknowledged that the film is of its time and that public attitudes and his own have shifted: "There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well.

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