(at around 17 mins) Jodie Foster claims that during the first meeting between Dr. Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling, Sir Anthony Hopkins's mocking of her southern accent was improvised on the spot. Foster's horrified reaction was genuine since she felt personally attacked. She later thanked Hopkins for generating such an honest reaction.
In preparation for his role, Sir Anthony Hopkins studied files of serial killers. Also, he visited prisons, and studied convicted murderers, and was present during some court hearings concerning gruesome murderers and serial killings.
After Lecter was moved from Baltimore, the plan was to dress him in a yellow or orange jumpsuit. Sir Anthony Hopkins convinced director Jonathan Demme and costume designer Colleen Atwood that the character would seem more clinical and unsettling if he was dressed in pure white. Hopkins has since said he got the idea from his fear of dentists.
When characters are talking to Starling (Jodie Foster), they often talk directly to the camera. When she is talking to them, she is always looking slightly off-camera. Director Jonathan Demme has explained that this was done so as the audience would directly experience her point-of-view, but not theirs, hence encouraging the audience to more readily identify with her.
The real-life FBI's Behavioral Science Unit assisted in the making of this movie.
George A. Romero: (at around 1h 13 mins) The bearded man who accompanies Dr. Frederick Chilton (Anthony Heald) and the two guards, who forcibly remove Clarice (Jodie Foster) after her final meeting with Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins). In addition, Dave Early from Zombie (1978) appears as one of the SWAT team.
Ted Tally: The FBI tactical team member with the mustache and glasses, during the raid near the end of the movie.