X-Files darling Gillian Anderson is returning to American TV now that she’s landed a plum role on NBC’s Hannibal, based on the charismatic cannibal from The Silence of the Lambs.
Anderson, who famously played smart and stunning Agent Dana Scully on X-Files for 10 seasons, joins the cast of writer / producer Bryan Fuller’s (Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, Heroes) adaptation of the popular thriller as Hannibal Lecter’s ‘murderous’ shrink Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, according to Entertainment Weekly.
“Every therapist needs their own head examined and we are ecstatic that Gillian Anderson has chosen Hannibal to mark her return to American television after 10 years to portray Dr. Lecter’s personal psychiatrist,” Fuller said in a statement, according to EW. “Her intelligence and sophistication, not to mention her pedigree of ground-breaking TV, make her the perfect actress to match wits and psychological manipulations with one of the greatest villains of pop culture. I couldn’t be more excited.”
The series stars several heavy hitters including Mads Mikkelsen as Lecter, Eddie Izzard, Angel’s Gina Torres, Molly Shannon, Ellen Greene (Pushing Daisies andAudrey in Little Shop of Horrors) and Chelan Simmons.
While Hannibal marks Anderson’s return to an American series she has appeared in several series and miniseries across the pond since leaving X-Files, includingThe Fall, Great Expectations andBleak House.
In April, 2011Anderson gave an interview to Out magazine in which she discussed a past relationship with a woman.
Image via Getty.
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