Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal television series is an incredible piece of art, largely due to Mads Mikkelsen’s iconic performance in the title role, but NBC tried their best to keep him off of the project despite him being the perfect choice.
For decades, Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter was viewed as not just the fundamental take on the character, but one of the creepiest performances of all time. Hopkins definitely puts his stamp on the serial killer and elevates him beyond the standard boogeyman. Hopkins earned an Academy Award for his work as Hannibal Lecter, yet in recent years there’s been a new favorite that’s emerged as the preferred take on the iconic character.
Mads Mikkelsen was cast as Hannibal Lecter in Bryan Fuller’s television adaptation of the Thomas Harris novels, and he masterfully portrayed the complex character for three seasons. Mikkelsen’s work is on a whole other level, and he’s flawlessly able to tap into the pure terror that embodies the character of Hannibal. Similarly, he's able to channel his artistic and reserved side that’s just as important. Mikkelsen’s micro-gestures and careful delivery makes Hannibal so intimidating, and nearly makes Hopkins’ work look like a caricature in contrast. Mikkelsen’s work has been praised for its nuance, but NBC was very against making him the start of their new Hannibal series despite him being Fuller's choice.
Hannibal is still one of the most ambitious and challenging shows to ever air on network TV, both in terms of its subject matter and how heady the art and themes would get at times. In many ways, it's a show that perfectly represents the harsh and fragile duality of Hannibal himself. The idea of turning Hannibal into a television series was something that NBC was very interested in, but they had a markedly American take on the property. This isn't exactly surprising, as NBC is one of the biggest homes for network television. It's in their best interest to create a program that reaches the widest audience possible and meshes with mainstream sensibilities.
Fuller's take on the character of Hannibal Lecter was very different than what the network had in mind. Not only did NBC want a more Americanized version of the character, but they wanted the complicated serial killer to be "much more poppy" and skew towards a broader and more exaggerated performance. First and foremost, this is very silly considering Hannibal is originally Lithuanian. However, NBC pushed for both John Cusack and Hugh Grant to be the leads of the series, insisting that not only would they effectively represent their take on the character, but that they'd also have a larger appeal for general audiences who were curious to check out the show. While grabbing a big name is a sensible choice for any new show, as there's a draw associated with star power, it wouldn't have suited Hannibal's character.
Bryan Fuller, thankfully, stuck to his beliefs and didn't give into NBC's demands. Fuller championed Mads Mikkelsen from the start and when he finally won this battle, it actually provided the series with a lot more freedom. Fuller explained that NBC's expectations for the series dropped once Mikkelsen was cast as the lead. If Cusack or Grant was Hannibal, they would have made a greater push for mainstream sensibilities that would likely have made Fuller's narrative vision impossible. Mikkelsen's casting allowed the pressure to drop and the series to pursue edgier territory and do its own thing. This is just more evidence of why Mads Mikkelsen's casting in Hannibal is one of the best things to ever happen to the source material. Without him at the helm, the show likely never would have achieved the same level of popularity, as Mikkelsen's portrayal of the iconic character has been frequently cited as one of the show's greatest draws and strongest aspects.