Anthony Hopkins is setting the record straight about one of Hollywood’s longest-running rumors.

The legendary actor, now 87, has firmly shut down claims that he and his The Silence of the Lambs co-star Jodie Foster were feuding or avoiding each other during the filming of the 1991 psychological thriller. Speaking on the Armchair Expert podcast, Hopkins clarified what he calls a persistent misconception.

“I met Jodie, and she was very nice,” he said. “There’s this quote going around that Jodie never spoke to me. That’s not true. We were quite friendly. There’s nothing spooky about it. That’s publicly crap.” (Source: Armchair Expert Podcast)

In his newly released memoir, "We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir," Hopkins explains that he and Foster, now 62, kept their distance mostly because of their characters’ dynamic. Hopkins portrayed the terrifying Hannibal Lecter, while Foster played Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee relying on Lecter’s insight to track a serial killer. According to Hopkins, maintaining a sense of separation during filming made their on-screen tension more authentic—something directors often encourage in psychological thrillers (Source: Variety).

The actor recalled their very first table read in New York: “We finished the script, and Kenny Utt, one of the producers, said, ‘Holy Moses, Tony, what is that?’ And Jodie said, ‘You’re scary.’”

Hopkins elaborates in the memoir that he intentionally leaned fully into the menace of Lecter from the very beginning. “I wanted to show what I could do, so I was as scary as I could be. You could have heard a pin drop. Seconds after I started speaking as Lecter, I saw Jodie grow tense.”

Their performances would go on to become iconic, helping The Silence of the Lambs sweep the top five categories at the 1992 Academy Awards—Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It remains one of only three films in history to achieve this rare feat (Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).

Despite the intensity of their roles, Hopkins said the emotional distance lifted once filming wrapped. He recalled sharing lunch with Foster on the final day: “Jodie put down her sandwich and said she had to confess something—she’d been scared of me.” Hopkins admitted he felt the same way about her. “We had a big hug and realized it was all due to the power of the script. Since then, we’ve always greeted each other with great warmth.”

Hopkins Addresses Rumors About His Mental Health

During the same period promoting his memoir, Hopkins also responded to comments made by his wife, Stella Arroyave, about the possibility that he might be on the autism spectrum. Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said:

“I’m obsessed with numbers. I’m obsessed with detail. I like everything in order. And memorizing. Stella looked it up and said, ‘You must have Asperger’s.’ I didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. I don’t even believe it.”

Asperger’s Syndrome is now classified under autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic. But Hopkins expressed skepticism about psychological labels in general.

“Well, I guess I’m cynical because it’s all nonsense,” he said. “ADHD, OCD, Asperger’s… It’s called living. It’s just being a human being, full of tangled webs and mysteries.”

Still, Hopkins noted that he sometimes wonders whether he inherited certain traits from his father, Richard Hopkins, who struggled with his own mental health. He shared that Laurence Olivier once suggested he see a psychiatrist early in his career—advice Hopkins ultimately ignored (Source: The Guardian).

He did attend therapy “briefly,” but quickly lost patience. “He kept saying, ‘Let’s go back.’ And I’d say, ‘I don’t want to do this. So boring.’ Then I found out he’d been married three times, and I quit.”

Despite his skepticism, Hopkins has been open over the years about confronting his struggles, including his sobriety journey that began in the 1970s, which he has credited with saving his life (Source: BBC News).

Now, as he promotes his memoir and continues a career spanning nearly seven decades, Hopkins remains as candid as ever—dispelling myths, challenging assumptions, and offering a rare window into his personal and professional life.