Question 1

True or false: Jodie Foster did all of her own stunts, including the final fight scene.

Accepted Answer

False. Foster performed many stunts herself, but a stunt double was required for the dangerous fall through the floorboards, so she did not do all stunts.

Question 2

True or false: Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins met for the first time on the set of the sequel, Hannibal.

Accepted Answer

False. They met while filming The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins insisted on a private rehearsal to build tension; they didn't socialize off-set, but they definitely met on set.

Question 3

True or false: Anthony Hopkins was only on screen for about 16 minutes in the entire film.

Accepted Answer

True. Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor despite approximately 16 minutes of screen time, around 14% of the film's 118-minute runtime—a famous trivia fact.

Question 4

True or false: The Silence of the Lambs was originally given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA due to its graphic violence.

Accepted Answer

True. The MPAA initially rated the film NC-17 for graphic violence. Director Jonathan Demme trimmed certain frames to secure an R rating before release.

Question 5

True or false: The moth in the film's poster is a real species called the death's-head hawkmoth.

Accepted Answer

True. The poster features a death's-head hawkmoth superimposed over Clarice's mouth. The species is real, and its skull-like pattern inspired Buffalo Bill's moth motif.

Question 6

True or false: The film's iconic 'silence of the lambs' phrase refers to Clarice's childhood trauma.

Accepted Answer

True. Clarice explains she heard the lambs screaming at night on her uncle's ranch and failed to save them. This memory symbolizes her drive to rescue Buffalo Bill's victim.

Question 7

True or false: The screenplay for The Silence of the Lambs was written by a first-time screenwriter named Ted Tally.

Accepted Answer

True. Ted Tally adapted Thomas Harris's novel and won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was his first major film credit, though he had written for theater.

Question 8

True or false: Ted Levine improvised the line 'It rubs the lotion on its skin' while filming.

Accepted Answer

False. The line 'It rubs the lotion on its skin' was scripted. Levine did, however, ad-lib the creepy dance he does while wearing a woman's skin suit.

The Silence of the Lambs Trivia Questions