Anthony Hopkins on What He Loves About ‘Very Cool’ Silence of the Lambs Costar Jodie Foster (Exclusive)

Anthony Hopkins has fond memories of working with Jodie Foster The Silence of the Lambs more than three decades ago.

“She’s Lovely,” the two-time Oscar winner, 86, who now stars in the film Freud’s last session, tells PEOPLE. “What’s wonderful about Jodie is that, she’s a great actress, she doesn’t have an entourage. She just comes on set and does it. Very relaxed. Very cool. What I like about her is that she is very practical.”

In the 1991 thriller based on the 1988 bestseller by Thomas Harris, Hopkins played Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and psychotic cannibal incarcerated in an institution for the criminally insane.

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FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Foster) interviews Lecter, hoping to gain insight into another serial killer known as Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), who kidnaps and skins women.

During the film, they develop a strange relationship and respect for each other, despite their obvious differences.

The film, directed by Jonathan Demme, was a huge hit and won five Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Hopkins, Best Actress for Foster, Best Picture, Best Director for Demme and Best Adapted Screenplay for writer Ted Tally.

Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. Everett

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Although Hopkins adores his former co-star, he says he hasn’t seen her since they got back together. DiversityActors About Actors series via Zoom 2021 to remember the film for its 30th anniversary.

“It’s a life-changing adventure, that movie, for both of us,” Foster, 58, told Hopkins at the time, adding, “I’m sure you still have people coming up to you and saying, ‘Would you like a nice Chianti?'”

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“Oh yes,” he replied. “They do.”

The pair also discussed the development of their characters and reactions to the film.

Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. Kinoteka/REX/Shutterstock

Hopkins recalls how Foster, who was open about her ambivalence about acting, told him she wasn’t sure she wanted to continue acting, he says. (Foster has since been busy as an actor, appearing in Nyad and HBO series A true detective.)

“There’s this nice healthy cynicism about it. It’s a job,” adds Hopkins, recalling an old anecdote from actor Robert Mitchum. “When they asked him, ‘Why did you act?’ He said, ‘It’s better than work.’ I like that. That’s good. Better than work.”

Freud’s last session it’s in theaters now.

For more on Anthony Hopkins, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE.

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Source: HIS Education