Conversations around transgender identity were largely absent from the cultural mainstream when Jonathan Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” premiered 35 years ago. Whether the word “trans” was in use at the time, I’m not entirely sure, but it was certainly not part of everyday language or public discourse.
Ted Levine, who played the disturbing, cross-dressing serial killer Jame Gumb, also known as “Buffalo Bill,” tells THR that he feels uneasy about how “The Silence of the Lambs” has contributed to “harmful” stereotypes about trans people.
There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.
This interview marks the first time the actor has addressed the charges of “transphobia” in the film.
[It’s] just over time and having gotten aware and worked with trans folks, and understanding a bit more about the culture and the reality of the meaning of gender. It’s unfortunate that the film vilified that, and it’s fucking wrong. And you can quote me on that.
It feels awkward that anyone would feel the need to “apologize” for it today. And really—how could that character have been portrayed in a way that wouldn’t upset someone? This only proves how, sometimes, the past is judged too harshly through today’s lens.
Was “Buffalo Bill” even transgender? Not in my memory. He might have put on lipstick and eyeliner in private, tried to hide his genitals, during an infamous moment, but when Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling confronted him in the film’s third act, he looked and sounded like an ordinary man.
In fact, the film makes a point of separating Gumb from transgender identity — look at a key segment from the script below. Even if it hadn’t, only a certain kind of fool assumes that villains can only come from some groups and not others. This just reinforces my long-held belief: actors, at their core, are fundamentally clueless.
