Bryan Fuller’s television series “Hannibal” is defined by Mads Mikkelsen’s iconic performance as the cannibalistic serial killer, but that role could’ve gone to John Cusack or Hugh Grant had NBC executives gotten their way with casting. In a recent interview with Collider, Fuller detailed the rollercoaster ride that came with casting Mikkelsen in the lead role opposite Hugh Dancy. The showrunner said the process became “a casting kerfuffle” as “there was a difference of opinion on what a traditional television network would want as a leading man.”
“I think the network wanted somebody that was much more poppy, much more mainstream, much more American I think in some ways,” Fuller said. “That was just them thinking about, ‘Okay, how do we get the biggest audience for our television show? We have to cast John Cusack as Hannibal Lecter and everybody will tune in because won’t that be surprising?...
“I think the network wanted somebody that was much more poppy, much more mainstream, much more American I think in some ways,” Fuller said. “That was just them thinking about, ‘Okay, how do we get the biggest audience for our television show? We have to cast John Cusack as Hannibal Lecter and everybody will tune in because won’t that be surprising?...
- 8/3/2020
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
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