Standard Talks: Hugh Dancy on The Humor of Hannibal
Standard Talks: Hugh Dancy on The Humor of Hannibal from The Standard on Vimeo.
Interview: Hugh Dancy Sets the Table for ‘Hannibal’
Hannibal hasn’t even completed its second season, but with good ratings and a strong critical response, NBC has shown the good taste (pun intended) to pick it up for a third. The show has produced enough twists and turns and a few WTF moments to keep any audience satisfied.
Hugh Dancy plays FBI profiler Will Graham, who is entrapped in the serial killer’s games. This is good drama and the byplay between Graham and Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) is worth the time and effort.
Hugh Dancy reflects on his character and the challenges of doing Hannibal.
The Flickcast: Can you talk about getting into the head space of Will because he’s a terribly troubled character?
HUGH DANCY: Yes. He’s not the happiest character I’ve ever played. Well, there’s obviously – other than Bryan’s [Fuller/Executive Producer] scripts, there’s Thomas Harris’s book, Red Dragon, that I went to before we started filming the first season, and that’s been the template ever since.
It was just, as a description of a character from the inside of his head, the most rich material that you can hope for as an actor.
TFC: Do you have different ways of approaching Will’s various phases of depression?
HD: Well, it was a slow, steady buildup, just starting from a place of basic depression. I felt last season that the spiral, that progression over the course of the thirteen episodes, was so well-charted-out, and Bryan had described it to me. He basically said when we started, “At the end of the season, you are going to vomit up an ear.”
And I thought, okay, that’s all I need to know. That gives me the trajectory that I need. And then in the relationship with Hannibal and working with Mads and kind of going further down that rabbit hole it all actually fell into place in a very straightforward way. And dark as it may be, it was incredibly fun and rewarding. In fact, the worse it got for him, the more I enjoyed it, which may be to do with me. I don’t know. But this season, it’s even worse. So I’ve been very happy.
TFC: The 2nd season started with Will being in a very precarious place being framed for Hannibal’s crimes – so how is your character handling this major setback?
HD: Well, I think we have to play out where we left off at the end of the first season, meaning that at the beginning of this season, Will is still in the position of trying to convince people of what’s happened. He’s still putting up his hand and saying, “Hey, this wasn’t me –Hannibal did it.” Ultimately, the set-up, that Hannibal’s framed him so successfully, he realizes, “Okay, that’s a dead end. I’ve got to find a different route.”
And that’s what happens. He tries various maneuvers. Will is a very smart guy and one of the interesting things, I think, is seeing him embrace a side of himself that can be manipulative.
TFC: With a TV series you’re always discovering new things about your character. Is it easier to do that or do you prefer as in a film to see the entire character laid out in front of you?
HD: Well, I mean, I have a pretty good sense, I think, of the basis, of the underpinnings of who Will is. One of the facts about him is that he’s incredibly elastic. He can go off in any direction, so I don’t exactly get surprised. Plus, of course, by virtue of being a prequel of sorts, we kind of know where we’re headed. There’s only so far we can veer off track.
TFC: What’s it like working with all of the dogs that Will has?
HD: It’s kind of great. I love that side of Will. I think that he’s such a, superficially at least, an unsympathetic character, that seeing him in his home with his dogs instantly lets you understand who he is for real. It’s basically what makes him likable. I always thought that the twin poles of the character were seeing him in his head kill other people – understanding that that’s where he goes – but then to balance that out, seeing him go home and go back to this lovely little place of security and pet his dogs.
TFC: How are things on the set? Do you joke around very much?
HD: Yeah. There are a lot of jokes. Look, we’re making a show about really well-dressed cannibals, so the comedy comes pretty easily. I mean, I’m trying to think of something anecdotal (laughing). Well, you know that amazing mural, with the bodies?
Well, the reality of that is, you’ve got thirty-five or forty naked, sweaty, farty people lying on a floor. So we’d be doing those scenes, and then you’d hear – I’m not exaggerating this – a stomach rumble here and at least four of them were asleep. So it’s takes some of the edge off the horror.
HANNIBAL – NBC – Friday, May 16 10 PM – “Tome-wan”
HANNIBAL – NBC – Friday, May 23 10 PM – “Mizumono” SEASON FINALE
Source: theflickcast.com
‘Hannibal’s’ Hugh Dancy: Will’s cannibalism and the ‘Pez dispenser’ moment that scared him
“Hannibal” star Hugh Dancy has to be able to take a lot on his show. Cannibalism, murder, creepy mushrooms and constant atmospheric lighting, however, don’t really bother the actor.
What does bother him is something that involved a Pez dispenser. Find out what in this interview from the NBC upfronts in New York.
One of the reasons that Dancy can put up with all of the crazy facing his character, Will Graham, is that he thinks Will could essentially be a happy person. “He’s just having an extremely unfunny period in his life,” Dancy tells Zap2it.
What’s so unfunny about Will’s life? For one thing, there’s a decent chance that the man has eaten human flesh. “I think the possibility remains that he has cannibalized,” Dancy says. “Let’s put it this way: I don’t think you could present human flesh — sorry, present flesh to Hannibal and get away with it not being human. The man has a good nose. So Will has definitely transgressed in some serious ways.”
How badly has Will crossed that line between humanity and Hannibalism? “That’s a good question,” Dancy says. “I think, look — he’s killed someone, he’s mutilated someone, he’s probably eaten someone. So he’s teetering already on about as bad as it gets. The question is really: How dark can he get and still retrieve himself? And that’s pretty much what — that’s the question that hangs over Season 2, pretty much through the finale. So I don’t want to blow that.”
With all of that, Dancy somehow manages to keep a sense of humor about all of the horrible stuff that happens on his show. But even the star isn’t immune to some things. Dancy does allow that one murder put him a little on edge:
“The only I found a little disturbing was in Season 1 when Doctor … what’s his name? The neurologist [Donald Sutcliffe, played by John Benjamin Hickey] … who gets his head chopped in half like a kind of Pez dispenser. [He and I] had just done a scene the day before, and he was a walking, talking guy. And, as it happens, a friend of mine. And then to walk onto the set, unexpectedly seeing him there with his head cleaved open. I really surprised myself by being upset by that, because normally I dig that stuff. I really dig it. It’s cool!”
And that’s how he puts up with all that “Hannibal” has to offer. Join him in surviving the crazy evil when “Hannibal” airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
Photo/Video credit: NBC
Source: Zap2it
Hannibal: Hugh Dancy on How Far Will Has Gone – IGN
BY ERIC GOLDMANNote: Spoilers for Hannibal up through last week’s episode follow.
Hannibal Renewed for Season 3
Last week’s Hannibal had some big reveals at the end, as we got confirmation that Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) had not truly fallen under Hannibal Lecter’s sway and was immersing himself in an intricate plan to finally stop his twisted confidant/enemy.
While Will may not have actually murdered Freddie Lounds, he’s still had to go plenty far to sell this situation. I spoke to Dancy this week at NBC’s Upfront event in New York, and he told me that when it came to the situation Will’s put himself in, “It’s precarious, but I think you’ll see — I mean, we’ve got two more episodes left [this season] — that Will is not just working a devious plan and trying to deceive Hannibal. He’s gotten to where he is by realizing that you can’t deceive Hannibal, so he’s going to proceed with great transparency.”
Dancy added that there most definitely still is cause for concern regarding Will’s actions, remarking, “He’s almost improvising in the way that we saw Hannibal improvise his way through the first season. He’s almost enjoying himself at this stage, and I think that’s the most worrying thing for Will.”
When we discovered Freddie was alive, I instantly had to wonder – what meat did Will bring Hannibal then that he inferred was Freddie and which they ate together? It may not have been Freddie, but Hannibal being Hannibal, wouldn’t he have known if it wasn’t human? Did Will, to make it seem that he had fully become the same as Hannibal, knowingly ingest human flesh?
When I asked Dancy this question, he replied, without hesitation, “I think it has to be human. I don’t think you could pull that one over Hannibal. It’s not like there’s some human spices you can add to lamb — I hope! Maybe he strapped it to himself for a day and a half. No, I think that was human.”
As for who that was being eaten then, Dancy said, from his perspective, “Probably, most likely, that was Randall Tier. I think Will has absolutely crossed a line. I talked about this with Bryan [Fuller] a lot as we started down the second half of this season, that if Will’s going to do that, he has to do it in total sincerity. Because you couldn’t fool Hannibal for a second any other way, and that’s the risk to him. Frankly, I don’t even know if we’ll resolve that this season, but certainly it will play up to the very, very last scene of this season.”
Hannibal airs Friday nights at 10pm ET/PT on NBC.
Source: IGN
BAFTA New York Presents “In Conversation” with Hugh Dancy
A candid Interview with Hugh Dancy, star of NBC’s “Hannibal” May 15, 2014 at The Standard, High Line.
Emmy® Award nominee Hugh Dancy (“Hannibal,” Hysteria) will be the featured guest at BAFTA New York’s next “In Conversation” that takes place on Thursday, May 15, 2014 at The Standard, High Line. Dancy, the star of NBC’s critically acclaimed series “Hannibal,” will discuss live and in an intimate setting his extraordinary career in television, film and on Broadway. Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, will moderate the event.
“I am excited to participate in this new BAFTA New York series. BAFTA is an important institution that promotes British talent around the world and I am honored that they have chosen me for their next conversation,” said Hugh Dancy.
“The response to the launch of our In Conversation series has been fantastic and we are delighted that Hugh Dancy is going to share with us the inside story of what drives him to excellence on stage, on screen and on TV,” said Charles Tremayne, BAFTA New York Chairman. “This is what makes this series so unique – it ‘s not a promotion, it’s an immersion in the craft of acting, the essence of what BAFTA stands for.”
“In Conversation,” a series of live interviews with notable British actors, directors, screenwriters and producers explores their career achievements and provides an inside look at what it takes to become and remain a top-notch artist. “In Conversation” is part of the Standard Talks program, a series of talks taking place across all The Standard Hotels in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. “In Conversation” with Hugh Dancy is sponsored by British Airways .
This event is not open to the public.
Source: bafta.org
Additional information about the event shared via twitter:
You don't have to be a #BAFTA Member to attend our #HughDancy event. Follow @NBCHannibal for exciting news tomorrow! #Hannibal #BAFTANYTalk
— BAFTA New York (@BAFTANY) May 7, 2014
Hugh to appear on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon – March 18
**Tuesday, March 18: Guests include Lena Dunham, Hugh Dancy and musical guest Foster The People. Show 0022
These listings are subject to change.
**denotes changes or additions
[February 28] The Today Show
I have added high quality images of Hugh at The Today Show this morning. Huge thank you to my friend Helen from jrhysmeyers.com for sending these our way.
Hugh Dancy – Reddit AMA
I have compiled the questions/answers from Hugh’s Reddit AMA. You can view them below.
Introduction/Closing Post:
Hugh Dancy – I’m playing Will Graham in Hannibal right now, ready to take your questions.
Done a bunch of films, bits of TV and a few plays; been playing Will Graham on NBC’s Hannibal which starts it’s 2nd season tonight. Fire away.
proof from my friend Bryan Fuller, as I don’t have social media: https://twitter.com/BryanFuller/status/439479504151801857
Hey guys I have to shoot, I would love to stay and answer more questions with my abysmal typing skills. Thankyou for all of them. As our Canadian crew would say I’m super-excited about tonight, hope you all enjoy. Bon Appetit!
https://twitter.com/reddit_AMA/status/439486079260172288
Questions/Answers:
DiegoVonCosmo
Do you ever compare acting notes with your wife about playing a mentally unstable law enforcement officer on a television series?
Do you ever compare acting notes with your wife about playing a mentally unstable law enforcement officer on a television series?
HughDancy_
Yes, mainly because ofg the danger of terrible overacting. We’re on a tight schedule, so there’s not much time to offer up different takes or levels of crazy. so you go home at the end of the day hoping you didn’t just do the worst acting of your life. And then she talked me down.
maxwell_stupid
Hey Hugh! You are incredible as Will Graham! So stoked for the new season! When did you find out what Will’s fate was going to be at the end of the first season? How did that conversation go? Did Bryan Fuller just approach you and was like “So yeah, I know you’re kind of the main character on this show but you’re going to get royally fucked over and spend the entire next season in a cell”?
HughDancy_
First time I met Bryan he pitched about 4 season’s worth of TV. Including cell time. But the thing that got me was that I’d vomit up someone’s ear (the ear-candidate actually changed). When I got tired during the 1st season I’d cling onto that dream.
ErisFire
Hi Hugh! Yesterday on Twitter during the #GoneMads extravaganza, Mads said one of the funniest moments on set for him was when “Someone kept snoring when filming the body mural in S2 and because so many bodies were there we didn’t know who.” So, my question to you leads on from that – what’s been YOUR funniest moment on set?
Another question I’ve been instructed to ask is how hard is it to keep an American accent up during filming?
(Also, sidenote; my housemates and I watched Adam the other day and everyone has fallen in love with it, so good job. Lots of praise coming from rainy England.)
HughDancy_
Hello England! Mads was diplomatic – it wasn’t just snoring. I had to join those good people on the floor (as you’ll see) and I can tell you all bodily noises were being emitted.
UnicornRadio
Hi, Hugh! My whole house (dogs included) love you on Hannibal. Will be seeing any screen time from Winston and the gang this season?
Thanks!
HughDancy_
Alana’s looking after the dogs. They’ll be back.
yungdicaprio
How does Mads Mikkelsen smell like?
HughDancy_
With his nose like everyone else
yungdicaprio
What’s your favorite episode of Hannibal?
HughDancy_
Good question – I think the finale of season 1. David Slade who shot the 1st ep came back and tied everything up; I thought it hit a really good emotional pitch, and all the throwbacks and parallels to ep 1 in GJH’s kitchen were so well done by Bryan. Plus that vomiting thing.
asmartblond
What’s it like working with Mads?
I want to have a nice dinner tonight. Any suggestions?
HughDancy_
I worked with Mads first about 10 years ago in King Arthur, which was a very different kettle of fish, mostly spent ojn horses killing people painted blue. We were in Dublin for 6 months and my memory ios patchy, but the one thingv I definitely took away was that I’d want to work with him again with fewer horses aqnd more acting. Followed his carrer since and for me he’s one of the best screen actors working anywhere. So the chance to sit opposite him and knock Bryan’s dialogue back and forth was incredible. He came onto the show after me and I was basically checking email every 5 mins hoping it would work out and I think it has. Good guy also.
I would try something vegetarian for dinner. Or just watch hannibal we’ll eat for you.
drelos
Which was your favorite dream-scape or hallucination to inhabit? Which was more scary? Mads seems like a nice guy, does he stay in character or are you both tempted to laugh sometimes?
HughDancy_
I liked when Will started sleepwalking except that it required me to walk around the country roads outside Toronto in sub-zero temperatures in my underwear. But that was when I got a sense of what road we were going to take him down, with a new sympton hitting him every week. Lots of fun. Like, ‘this week you get to have aural hallucinations’. Great!
Noone stays in character except perhaps Scott Thompson.
freakonomist91
Can we get Nina Arianda into Hannibal? Maybe as a potential love interest for Will, or maybe as Clarice Starling. You guys were amazing in Venus in Fur.
P.S. You (and the Hannibal team) are doing amazing work. I can’t praise the show enough. I only have awards I want to throw at it.
HughDancy_
Thanks. Which awards to you have, to be exact?
I think the conversation about Nina did actually come up – I’d love it, but she wasn’t available.
zanzaboonda
How hard was it to follow Will down his descent into madness and self-doubt? Did you ever begin to question your own sanity?
HughDancy_
Not exactly but it was hard to keep track. So I kind of questioned if other people would question my sanity.
failedpepsichallenge
In taking on the character of Will Graham, did you (or Bryan) come up with a more fully developed background of Will’s life before the FBI? Will we be getting any snippets if this is the case or can you share a bit of that backstory?
HughDancy_
Yes there’s a fair bit in Red Dragon, in terms of his background, that we touch on in season 1 – traveling around with his Dad, having been a homicide detective, worked in forensics etc. The conversation was not so much adding biographical detail but exploring what we knew – eg what would he have been like as a homicide detective and the answer was he probably wouldn’t have lasted long. Which he didn’t.
Gnomeseason
How do you get your hair to look so perfectly tousled?
HughDancy_
I have a professional tousler who travels with me at all times.
finding_jay
Hi, Hugh. It’s 3AM where I am, and I’ve stayed awake for this. Super keen for season 2!
Couple of questions-
Where would you like to see Will/the show go? Obviously you’ve got the limits of the book series, but is there a direction you’d like to take?
What is a role you’d love to play some day!
Thanks so much for this! Hope to see your answers ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
HughDancy_
Okm well I’d better answer before you nod off. 1. I’d like to see Will get a bit more agency, obviously he was in some ways quite passive in 1, in fact didn’t even know what was happening to him. So I want to see him take action. That said our version of action is always going to involve a certain amount of talking. I wouldn’t say we’re limited by the books exactly – we have to judge right how far we can travel within the parameters of the universe. I think the further we get the more we can play. So that when we get to red Dragon etc you’re not suddenly going to know EXACTLY what will happen.
Off the top of my head I wouldn’t mind a Western
InsaniNox
Not Hannibal related, but do you miss Staffordshire?
HughDancy_
Yes!
cc123456
When you are on set does your accent slip out while you are filming?
HughDancy_
Not so far, at least I don’t think so. They can do amazing things in post though so its possible they put me through some kind of American filter.
yungdicaprio
Does Mads Mikkelsen’s breath smell like flowers?
HughDancy_
Not any I’ve encountered.
Teaslinger
So many comments already, I’m sure mine will get drowned out but anyways here goes! This show is the first series I’ve been able to actually watch in a while due to a mild mental disorder, TV series do not usually work well for me. Every week I force myself to sit down and enjoy your show, it is so beautifully crafted and amazingly acted that I find no trouble being immersed. So yeah just wanted to say thank you for being a major player in something so incredible!!
HughDancy_
Thanks
n1ffuM
What were your (and the cast/writers) thoughts on Utah/SLC Valley cable station KSL’s refusal to air Hannibal due to “excessive graphic violence”?
Link to story.
I love Bryan Fuller’s work so of course I watched the show and it’s quite interesting.
HughDancy_
You know it’s a free world. And in some ways it’s like a badge of honour. I actually think that the one thing we don’t do is desensitize violence. And actually another thing – we don’t casually or predominantly inflict violence, in particular sexual violence, on women. Our show is equal opportunity. So, sure, don’t watch. But for me there are other culprits more worthy of censure.
failedpepsichallenge
Will sweats a lot. Is there just a giant barrel of glycerin marked “Will Sweat” in makeup?
HughDancy_
It’s worse than that. There’s so many different types. But that’s nothing compared to the blood. There’s clothes blood, hair blood, eye blood, mouth blood, prosthetics dept blood and on and on. For some reason it’s never quite the right consistency or colour so we end up creating a cocktail with everyone chipping in their opinions – bit darker, no no that’s too arterial. And then they cover me in it.
princex25
Hey Hugh! Thank you for doing this. Did you ever consider playing Will Graham with a southern accent?
HughDancy_
No I think that would have tied him down too much. He has had a very itinerant childhood, which I think makes sense that mentally he’s quite itinerant, so something more generic, to reflect that, was better. I’d love to do a Southern accent but let’s face it there’s a long history of Brits doing horrible Southern accents so I need to excercise caution. Words that will probably come back to haunt me.
meganmachine
have you ever had any nightmares after seeing some of the death tableaus? did any of them scare you/disgust you more than others?
HughDancy_
No. The only one that freaked me out a little was my neurologist, Dr Suttcliffe, the reason being the prtosthetic was so graphic and I walked on set after they’d prepped it (ie dressed with blood etc) when I wasn’t expecting it. But really it was because the Dr was played by a friend, John Benjamin Hickey (we’d worked together on The Big C) and seeing him with his head chopped in half like a pez dispenser was a bit troubling.
sturm_tasse
Did Mads really bite you during the TCA’s? If he did, did it hurt? Did he tell you he was going to do it, or was it completely by surprise?
HughDancy_
I think I asked him to. Anything for NBC
jayfromwestegg
Any favourite “Fannibal” stories? Also, do you have a favourite line you delivered in Season 1?
HughDancy_
Nothing but good stories, and encounters, with Fannibals. Comiccon was amazing. Favourite lines were probably the speech in GJH’s kitchen in the season finale as it dawns on me what he has done. and also from ep 1 “I like the smell of urinal cake.’
InsaniNox
Do you think Hannibal would survive a zombie apocalypse?
HughDancy_
He would be their God. But I think he’d find it a little trying, I’ve never heard of a zombie with a passion for cooking their food
fringeofmadness
You (and Will) seem to spend a lot of time in season 2 in your little cage talking to people, you even get a straightjacket and a muzzle – Do you find that limiting as an actor to be restricted like that or do you take it as a challenge to focus on Will himself and his relationship with other characters?
HughDancy_
Yes there’s some limits no doubt. Technical mainly – there’s only so many things you can do in a cell, and once you’ve sat on your bunk, paced, stared menacingly and approached the bars you’ve pretty much run the full gamut. Also you spend most of the time trying not to let a bar get between you and the camera and if it does you see the camera crew swearing and/or gesturing you to move over, so it’s kind of hard to lose yourself in the moment. But that said it felt kind of iconic, mask in particular
namesnotmarina
Hi Hugh!
I have three questions:
What was it like working on Venus in Fur? It is one of my favourite plays and you were amazing in that production.
Are you okay with the idea of a Hannibal/Pushing Daisies crossover?
What’s Scott Thompson like off camera?
HughDancy_
Great. 1hr 40 mins on stage nonstop with a great actress, Miss Nina Arianda. So much fun. A serious workout, mentally and physically. I think I read that it’s the most produced play across America this year which is probably in part because they only have to pay 2 actors, but also because there’s so much in it.
Yes though I have no idea what it would look like. Bryan seems to reemploy everyone he’s ever worked with so I guess it’ll happen by default.
He’s a very serious, sober, introverted individual who comes alive when you touch on the love of his life which is of course modern dance.
rpgreenmachine4
Hello Hugh! I love your work and was curious what you said and how you talked Bryan Fuller into casting Mads as Hannibal. Was there a particular interaction you and Mads had on the set of King Arthur that made you think he had the chops to pull off Hannibal? Thank you for suggesting it; it makes for an amazing show.
HughDancy_
There was no need to talk him into it. Just timing.
elithewho
Hi, I’m a big fan. Eagerly awaiting the premier tonight. Could you tell me more about the airport carpet thing?
HughDancy_
go to www.carpetsforairports.com – a friend set it up, and I’ve merely assisted by spreading the word and photographing a few carpets. Our work is never done.
MyAnTran
Do you really think we wouldn’t be able to recognize human meat if we ate some?
HughDancy_
Absolutely. There’s no way you can recognize something you haven’t already encountered. Unless there’s something you’re trying to tell me..?
elspunko
Hi Hugh! Thanks for getting so involved with the fannibals – you, Mads, and Bryan make it such an awesome community. Going into the second season, how aware were you of things like the fans’ constant cry of “someone please help Will Graham”?
This leads to my next question: will someone ever help Will Graham?
HughDancy_
Will Graham has to help himself.
InsaniNox
When you were filming Hysteria was it difficult to keep a straight face when you were pretending to pleasure women?
HughDancy_
I’d like to say that there’s nothing in the least bit amusing about pleasuring women. But it turns out that’s not true.
MTCicero
Hugh- so grateful that you are taking the time. How did you prepare for the role of Will and did you look back to Manhunter or Red Dragon (the film) for any inspiration? If all things go your way, do you hope to be involved with the show beyond the events of Red Dragon?
HughDancy_
I read the books, Red Dragon for season 1 and then the others moving forward, because as I’m in jail/asylum it seemed the descriptions of Hannibal in Silence etc might be of value, and they were. Moving forward who knows? But yes I hope to be involved
psevero
Dear Hugh, what is your favorite book?
HughDancy_
Sabbaths theater by Philip Roth, Women in Love by DH Lawrence
You can view all of his answers here. The thread here. Congratulations to those who had their questions answered and a huge thank you to Hugh for taking the time to answer them!
Hugh Dancy teases ‘Hannibal’ eventually taking ‘Silence of the Lambs’ turn
“Silence of the Lambs” fans, take note: NBC’s “Hannibal” may be about the period before Dr. Lecter became known as Hannibal the Cannibal, but the series could eventually give viewers the meal they’re craving.
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Star Hugh Dancy (who plays FBI agent Will Graham) hinted the show will hopefully get to “Lambs” territory.
“That’s certainly the endgame, is to get to the point that we get into those stories that people recognize,” he told TODAY’s Carson Daly Friday. “But by that time I think we’ll have created our own world and we’ll be able to put our own spin on things.”
Meanwhile, the story of Lecter being a killer (and serious foodie!) continues to develop in the new season. But Graham is the one currently behind bars, thanks to the dangerous psychiatrist, and he’s plotting his way out as the season starts.
“I’m trying to manipulate from within my jail cell, get back to the point that I can win (Lecter’s) trust and maybe kind of get revenge,” Dancy teased.
The difference this season is that now Graham knows what he’s working with. “He’s realized what he’s up against.. … He knows who Hannibal is, so he’s trying to call back to the point that he can convince people of that,” said Dancy.
Still, it’s probably good for everyone involved — including the show’s most devoted viewers, “Fannibals” — that the bloody series airs late in prime time. Even Dancy said it’s definitely not a program to watch during dinner.
“Anything gross you out in season two?” Daly asked.
“Almost the whole thing,” Dancy admitted.
“Hannibal” kicks off season two Friday at 10 p.m. on NBC. Snacking is not recommended.
Hannibal Season 2: Can Will Beat Hannibal At His Own Game?
It all started with a regurgitated ear.
As Hannibal proved again and again in its first season, it’s more capable than almost any other TV show of taking horrifying, gruesome images and turning them into something beautiful and interesting. In the case of the ear, that stomach-turning moment became much more powerful when Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) was revealed to be using it (and a serious case of encephalitis) to frame FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) for the series of murders Hannibal committed over the course of the first season.
Unfortunately for Will, he put together the pieces too slowly and, in a great reversal from the Thomas Harris books and the films they inspired, took Hannibal’s place on the other side of the prison bars at the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane. As Season 2 begins (Friday at 10/9c, NBC) the role reversal continues as Hannibal replaces Will as a consultant for Jack Crawford (Laurence Fishburne) and the FBI’s Behavioral Sciences Unit while Will unsuccessfully pleads his innocence to anyone who will listen.
Once Will realizes he has few allies who believe him, he decides to put his (now un-afflicted) mind to work on a different plan. “He’s playing with a full deck of cards,” Dancy tells TVGuide.com of his character in Season 2. “He’s behind bars, but’s got a new strength. With that strength comes a kind of ruthlessness, determination, and a willingness to use the sides of him that are manipulative or more powerful. That’s the game we see starting in Season 2.”
In fact, Will engages in a bit of a long con that involves him convincing Hannibal and Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) that he has accepted the possibility that he committed these murders and wants Hannibal’s therapeutic help. But will Hannibal be smart enough to not take the bait? “We understand that Will Graham has to be Hannibal Lecter’s downfall,” creator and executive producer Bryan Fuller says, noting that Hannibal is aware he’s playing with fire. “He’s a guy who’s very comfortable being reactionary; whatever comes his way, he’s going to react to his best abilities. He’s so fascinated with Will and the opportunity for a true friendship for the first time in his life that he is definitely adopting some very risky behavior.”
And Will, in turn, will use Hannibal’s desire for friendship against him. “The two of them are circling each other, if you like,” Dancy says. “[Will’s] partially looking for weakness. … Hannibal is looking for signs of friendship from Will, and in turn that’s something that Will thinks maybe he can exploit. … That gives Will a tiny little bit of leverage, something he can lean on to play Hannibal. But Hannibal is always the smartest guy in the room, so he has to be very cautious.”
Indeed, there’s always the chance that Hannibal knows he’s being played and is just going along for the ride. And, as Dancy notes, Will could very easily get sucked back into Hannibal’s web of manipulation. “Hannibal is like a virus,” Dancy says. “When [Will] returns to Hannibal’s circle, he is at least 50 percent at risk of being drawn back in, because it’s a place as comfortable to him — that darkness — as the other life he forged himself.
“Just like Hannibal, [Will] is drawn to that connection that they have,” Dancy continues. “Hannibal is the only person who speaks to him on the same level. It’s like going back to a really bad relationship again and again. It wouldn’t be interesting if there weren’t risks for Will, and there’s definitely a risk. Not just a risk of being chopped up and eaten, but a psychological risk for Will to re-engage with Hannibal.”
Especially considering that Will, even before he began suffering encephalitis, often feared how fully he could give his mind over to thinking like the psychopaths he was chasing. “He had a fear of actual mental illness and he had a fear of the potential within himself for darkness,” Dancy says. “What we see in Season 2 is he’s willing to get more close to that dark side of himself if that will bring him closer to Hannibal. He’s prepared to risk himself to further that game.”
And is it a game that Will ultimately wins? The season kicks off with an incredibly provocative scene that suggests Will finally convinces others of Hannibal’s true nature. And while we wouldn’t dream of spoiling it here (NBC has made it readily available online if you just can’t wait), Fuller is convinced that kicking off the season with a peek at where the story is headed is simply an appetizer to the full meal Hannibal intends to serve in its second season.
“There were a couple of reasons to start this season [with that scene],” Fuller says. “One was that I simply couldn’t wait to see it. I knew that’s where we were going for the end of the second season, but I was greedy and impatient and needed to see it much sooner than that. I’m confident that we have a lot of spoilers and reveals yet to be told that go above and beyond that opening. So, I didn’t feel like we were giving away the story as much as we were saying, ‘Oh my God, there’s so much more to this story, you should come inside!'”
Hannibal premieres Friday at 10/9c on NBC.
