List of minor characters in the Hannibal series

This is a list of the support characters from the Hannibal Lecter series. The series consists of four novels and their five film adaptations (counting "Red Dragon", the remake of "Manhunter").

Dr. Alan Bloom

Appears in "Red Dragon" and "The Silence of the Lambs".

Dr. Bloom is a renowned forensic-psychologist for the FBI. He is the only psychologist not to take any professional interest in Will Graham, for which Graham is very thankful.

He helps Jack Crawford on both the cases of the Red Dragon, and Buffalo Bill.

Dr. Bloom is portrayed by Paul Perri in "Manhunter" and is renamed Dr. Sydney Bloom, possibly to avoid confusion with real-life Professor Allan Bloom, whose book 'The Closing of the American Mind' appeared after the novel but before the film of 'Silence of the Lambs'.

Ardelia Mapp

Appears in "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Hannibal".

Ardelia Mapp is Clarice Starling's roommate and a fellow FBI special agent. Not much is known about her, but she is a close enough friend that Starling mails her an emerald ring at the end of the novel "Hannibal".

She is mainly a supporting character, but important to Clarice Starling's over-all character, and plays a rather large role in "Hannibal". In the novels, she is Starling's best friend and confidant. In "The Silence of the Lambs", she is Starling's roommate at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. In "Hannibal", they are again roommates, but both are now certified FBI Special Agents. She does not appear in the film "Hannibal", even though she and Starling are roommates, but she supports Starling during her ordeals in both the novel and film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs".

In the novels, Mapp is known for her unorthodox attitude and good cooking. Her family originates from Jamaica.

In the film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs", she was portrayed by Kasi Lemmons.

Barney Matthews

Appears in "The Silence of the Lambs", "Hannibal" and "Red Dragon"

The head orderly for the maximum security unit at the hospital in Baltimore where Lecter is housed for eight years. Barney is a caring man and even earns Lecter's respect during the six years that he works with him. Barney first appears in the The Silence of the Lambs. After Lecter escaped during a transfer and assumably killed the hospital chief of staff Frederick Chilton, the hospital was shut down, leaving Barney with no job. It is unknown what Barney does with his time within the seven year gap between the books (it can be assumed that he auctions off Hannibal Lecter's memorabilia as he sells Lecter's mask to Mason Verger for $250,000 at the beginning of the movie Hannibal), but during the events of Hannibal, he is seen to be working with one of Lecter's surviving victims, Mason Verger. Barney develops feelings for Mason's sister Margot, a lesbian. However, due to her sexuality, the relationship is not mutual. Barney encounters Lecter and Clarice Starling in Buenos Aires three years after the events of "Hannibal".

He is portrayed by actor Frankie Faison in the adaptation of both novels and appears in Red Dragon as well, although the character does not appear in the novel.

Benjamin Raspail

Appears in "The Silence of the Lambs".

Raspail is Lecter's ninth recorded victim. He was a flutist in the Baltimore Philharmonic Orchestra and was also a patient of Lecter's. It is said in the novels that Lecter stabbed him in the heart while he was in his office, and placed his body in a church pew where his pancreas and thymus had been removed. It is assumed that this is the man whom Lecter infamously fed to the Orchestra Committee. Raspail plays an important role later in the series when the FBI attempts to capture the serial killer Buffalo Bill. Lecter tells Agent Clarice Starling that Raspail was romantically involved with "Buffalo Bill".

In the film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs", the Raspail character (a Lecter victim in the book) is merged with Klaus (a Buffalo Bill victim) and Raspail's severed head (Klaus's head in the book) is seen and is "portrayed" by a facial cast of producer Edward Saxon. In the film adaptation of "Red Dragon" the literary Raspail story begins the film, though the flautist remains unnamed in order to reflect the aforementioned changes made in the "Silence" screenplay. The flautist is portrayed by Tim Wheater.

I. J. Miggs

Appears in "The Silence of the Lambs".

One of Lecter's co-inmates while imprisoned, "Multiple" Miggs is seen as a foul mouthed, vulgar character. As Clarice passes by on her way to meet Lecter for the first time, Miggs whispers to her through his bars "I can smell your cunt". When Clarice leaves, Miggs throws semen in her face. This disgusts Lecter to the point where he agrees to help Starling as a means of apologizing to her. After she leaves, Lecter whispers to Miggs all night, tormenting him until he kills himself by swallowing his own tongue. Years later, while Clarice is looking for Dr Lecter's medical file, she finds it has been replaced with Miggs' own medical history. In the film version of Silence of the Lambs, Miggs is portrayed by Stuart Rudin.

Enrikas Dortlich

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Dortlich is a member of the Grutas gang and is partially responsible for the death of Lecter's younger sister Mischa. Years later, while working as a Soviet border guardsman, he is dispatched by Vladis Grutas to kill Hannibal Lecter upon his re-entry into Lithuania. However, while stalking Hannibal on the grounds of the Lecter hunting lodge, he is incapacitated. He is then interrogated by Lecter as to the whereabouts of the other gang members. Lecter brutally murders him by way of decapitation, using his horse Cesar and a crude rope pully system. Lecter then partially cannibalizes him and makes a brochette out of his cheeks.

He was portrayed by Richard Brake.

Catherine Martin

Appears in "The Silence of the Lambs".

Catherine Baker Martin is a college-aged young woman. She is the last victim taken by the serial killer known as Buffalo Bill, due to his subsequent defeat by the FBI and Clarice Starling. Much of the nation's law enforcement was put on alert after Catherine was kidnapped: her mother, Ruth Martin, was the junior United States Senator from Tennessee.

Gumb stored Catherine in a homemade oubliette in the basement of his house. Traces of former occupants, as well as Gumb's treatment of her, led Catherine to realize who held her. Though despairing and frantic, she still attempted to fight back, and eventually managed to lure Gumb's beloved poodle, "Precious," into the oubliette using scraps of food. She held the dog hostage for several hours, forcing Gumb to delay his plans harvesting her hide, which Clarice Starling then interrupted permanently. In this way, Catherine saved her own life.

She was portrayed by Brooke Smith.

Carlo Deogracias

Appears in "Hannibal".

A pig farmer from Sardinia, he originally worked for Mason Verger's father, Molston Verger, as one of the farmers that supplied his meat packing company with pig products. In "Hannibal", it is revealed that Carlo and his brother had spent years breeding a group of specially adapted boars for Mason. These boars were to be utilized in order to exact revenge on Hannibal Lecter for paralyzing and disfiguring Verger. Carlo is killed by Clarice Starling when she comes to Mason's farm to rescue Lecter from the boars that Carlo had bred.

He was portrayed by Ivano Marescotti.

Cesar

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

A draft horse that Lecter's family owned when he was a child, which whom Lecter builds a strong bond to. Cesar becomes important in the murder of Enrikas Dortlich. Lecter attaches a rope to Dorlich's neck and uses the horse's power to decapitate him. Lecter releases Cesar after the murder of Dortlich.

Cordell Doemling

Appears in "Hannibal".

Mason Verger's personal medical assistant. In the novel Hannibal, he is killed by Mason's sister Margot during Lecter's bloody escape. In the film adaptation, the characters of Margot, Cordell, and Dr. Doemling, holder of the Verger Chair of psychology at Baylor University, and Mason Verger's personal psychological advisor, are merged. In the film, he remorsefully participates in Mason's plan to feed Lecter to boars. Lecter, upon his escape, convinces Doemling to drop Mason into the boar pen, where he is eaten alive. Lecter then urges Doemling to blame him for the murder.

He was portrayed by Zeljko Ivanek.

Freddy Lounds

Appears in "Manhunter" and "Red Dragon."

A reporter for the tabloid "The National Tattler", Lounds wrote a gossip column focusing largely on serial killers and the police officers who pursue them. Shortly after FBI profiler Will Graham apprehended Dr. Hannibal Lecter, he was hospitalized for injuries inflicted by Lecter. Lounds sneaked into his hospital room and took pictures of the unconscious Graham, and also documented Graham's extensive psychiatric therapy afterwards. Graham retired from the FBI soon after that but held a lasting resentment against Lounds.

Years later, when Jack Crawford called Graham out of retirement, Lounds started tracking him, and discovered that Graham had gone to Lecter for help in his search for the "Tooth Fairy" killer, aka Francis Dolarhyde. Lounds reported this, and Dolarhyde himself bought a copy of his paper. This in turn inspired him to write to Lecter, sending coded messages by way of "The Tattler"'s personal ads. Lecter replied by sending Dolarhyde a coded message for Graham's home address in Florida.

Once Graham and Crawford were informed of the message, they went into action to protect Graham's family. Graham's wife and stepson were taken to the home of Crawford's brother, while Graham himself was taken to an apartment in Washington, D.C. They then turned to Lounds, using him to distribute "exclusive information" about the case. Lounds took photographs of Graham in his apartment; Graham also gave Lounds false information about the clues Lecter has given him, saying Dolarhyde may be a homosexual or impotent. By attributing these insults to Lecter, they hoped to trick Dolarhyde into breaking the contact. The ultimate purpose of this subterfuge was for Graham to hang himself out as bait, and as such he was covered by SWAT surveillance and wore bulletproof vests at all times.

Unfortunately, instead of going after Graham, Dolarhyde kidnapped Lounds himself. He stripped him naked, and superglued him to a wheelchair in his home. While there, he explained his "transformation" into the "Red Dragon", which he believed was brought closer to fruition with every murder. He made Lounds record a confession in which he admitted that he lied in his article, blamed Graham and Crawford for making him do it, and professed his gratitude at being witness to part of Dolarhyde's "transformation." Once he had completed the recording, Dolarhyde bit off Lounds's lips, doused him in gasoline, set him on fire, and sent him rolling into the "Tattler"'s parking garage. He later died of his injuries. Lounds blamed Graham for what had happened to him; in the novel, he also delivered the license plate number of Dolarhyde's van, making sure the police had noted it.

Chapters from Lounds' point of view depict a hard-working man with no delusions about the mercenary and manipulative nature of his work. He left the "respectable" press before it used him up and thereafter made his fortune at the "Tattler" writing sham stories about miraculous cancer cures. His girlfriend, formerly a stripper, is now the owner of her own night-club, thanks to a loan co-signed by Freddie himself. Graham, despite his animosity towards Lounds, still feels regret at his death, if for no other reason that Lounds should have been staked out the way Graham himself was, and failing to do so cost them a chance to nab the Tooth Fairy. At least one character also comments on Lounds' bravery, passing on everything he had learned of Dolarhyde before succumbing to pain and eventual death.

Lounds was played by Stephen Lang in "Manhunter" and Philip Seymour Hoffman in "Red Dragon".

Zigmas Milko

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Milko is a former member of the Grutas Gang. He is sent by Grutas to kill Lecter at the medical school Lecter is attending in France, and is instead murdered by Lecter, by way of drowning in a tank of formaldehyde. Lecter then consumes his cheeks and burns his remains.

He was portrayed by Stephen Walters.

Count Lecter, VII

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Count Lecter is the father of Hannibal and Mischa Lecter. Count Lecter was descended from the warlord "Hannibal the Grim", and lived in the castle that was built by his ancestor (Lecter Castle). Count Lecter is killed when he finds himself in the middle of a shootout between a Soviet tank and a Stuka fighter.

He was portrayed by Richard Leaf.

imonetta Sforza-Lecter

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Simonetta is Hannibal and Mischa Lecter's mother. She was very close to her children, especially her son, Hannibal. She, her husband, Count Lecter, and her two children escape into a hunting lodge after Nazi troops invade the area. She is killed after a Stuka fighter crashes into a Soviet tank.

She was portrayed by Ingeborga Dapkunaite.

Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi

Appears in "Hannibal".

Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi is a disgraced Florentian detective who attempts to capture Dr. Hannibal Lecter, posing in Florence as a museum curator. Pazzi achieved some celebrity during his investigation of the "Il Mostro" serial murder case. He was disgraced when it was revealed that the man he caught in connection with the murders was merely a compulsive liar. Enamored and ultimately corrupted by the idea of financial gain, Pazzi attempts to capture Dr. Fell - whom he rightfully suspects of being the infamous Hannibal Lecter - in order to claim a reward from the vengeful Mason Verger. He advises Mason's Sardinian thugs as to Dr. Fell's location, but before Lecter can be captured, Pazzi is brutally murdered by Lecter, in a manner similar to how his very ancestor (Francesco Pazzi) was executed: hung and disemboweled from the balcony of the Palazzo Vecchio.

He was portrayed by Giancarlo Giannini.

Mischa Lecter

Mischa is the younger sister of Hannibal Lecter. It is strongly suggested that her murder (during the end of World War II) is the major catalyst that led Lecter to not only avenge his sister's death, but become a cannibalistic serial killer.

The novel "Hannibal" explains that Mischa is only three when her parents are killed in a crossfire between enemy forces, leaving the young Lecter to take care of his only sister. Shortly afterward, a group of Lithuanian Nazi collaborators retreating from the Soviet army capture them. After a few days in the harsh winter, the looters slaughter Mischa and consume her remains. Hannibal prays for his sister's safe return, to no avail.

Mischa's role and character is expanded in "Hannibal Rising", in which she is portrayed by Helena Lia Tachovka.

Molly Graham

Appears in "Red Dragon".

Molly Graham is the wife of Will Graham. Graham is her second husband, and the stepfather to her child Willy. Because of the death of her first husband, she is very worrisome of Graham's chosen profession as a criminal profiler, especially after his near fatal encounter with Hannibal Lecter. She discourages him from taking part in the "Tooth Fairy" case, and fears he may be either killed or traumatized by returning to such high stress work. Later in the novel, however, it is Molly who dispatches serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, when he attempts to kill Graham and his family on their home turf. Molly shoots Dolarhyde multiple times in the head, ending his reign of terror. Though she appears at the end of the novel while Graham is recuperating from a severe stab wound to the face, it is stated in "The Silence of the Lambs", that she left Graham shortly after the events of "Red Dragon" because he became a drunk.

She was portrayed by two actresses; Kim Greist in "Manhunter" and Mary-Louise Parker in "Red Dragon".

Pascal Popil

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Pascal Popil, is a French police detective who specializes in war crimes and thus was called upon when Paul Momound, a war criminal, was killed. Several of his relatives were killed in World War II, which is implied to have led him to become an inspector. He correctly surmises that Hannibal was responsible for the death of Momound, a butcher who offended his aunt, Lady Murasaki, as well as murdering members of the gang of soldiers that killed and ate his sister Mischa. He attempts to persuade Lecter to turn Vladis Grutas over to him and have him stand trial. When Lecter refuses, he begins to build a case against Hannibal, but insufficient evidence results in Lecter going free.

He was portrayed by Dominic West.

Paul Momoud

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Paul Momoud is a former war criminal and butcher as well Hannibal Lecter's first victim. After insulting Hannibal's adoptive aunt, Lady Murasaki, Momoud is confronted by Lecter while fishing. Lecter demands an apology. Momoud refuses and Lecter playfully eviscerates Momoud with a katana. Lecter then decapitates him and collects his head to honor Lady Murasaki with. His body is discovered and sparks an investigation headed by Inspector Popil.

He was portrayed by Charles Maquignon.

Jimmy Price

Appears in "Red Dragon".

Jimmy Price is a technician and is highly skilled in the area of latent finger-prints. He assists Will Graham and Jack Crawford in pursuing the "Tooth Fairy" killer.

He was portrayed by Dan Butler in "Manhunter" and Stanley Anderson in "Red Dragon".

Mr Jakov

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Jakov is Hannibal Lecter's former tutor during his years at Lecter Castle. He instructed Hannibal in history, geometry, mathematics, English, German and a slew of other subjects. He also helped Hannibal invent his memory palace, which is instrumental in Lecter's incredibly rich memory and intellect. Along with Hannibal's parents, he is killed in a battle between a Stuka fighter and a Soviet tank on the grounds of the Lecter family hunting lodge.

He does not appear in the film adaptation of Hannibal Rising.

Petras Kolnas

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Kolnas is a former member of the Grutas gang. Eight years after the murder of Mischa Lecter, Kolnas is stalked by Hannibal Lecter. Lady Murasaki pleads with Hannibal not to kill Kolnas due in part with Kolnas having children and seemingly turning his life around. Lecter later barters with Kolnas for information as to Grutas' location. Kolnas then attempts to kill Lecter, however, he himself is killed out of self defense with a Tanto knife through the skull.

He was portrayed by Kevin McKidd.

Bronys Grentz

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Grentz is the last member of the Grutas gang to be murdered by Hannibal Lecter in "Hannibal Rising". He fled to Montreal, Canada after World War II, and that is where he is discovered. Though it is not depicted in either book or film, it is suggested that Lecter decapitates him.

He was portrayed by Ivan Marevich.

Vladis Grutas

Appears in "Hannibal Rising".

Grutas is the novel's primary villain and one of the men who murders and cannibalizes Mischa Lecter. He is partially responsible for Hannibal Lecter's transformation into a serial killer. Grutas is the leader of the Grutas Gang, a band of Lithuanian SS officers. Fleeing from a battle, the band kidnap Hannibal Lecter and his sister Mischa. Starving, they then cannibalise her and savagely beat her brother. He is killed after Lecter discovers him on a private boat in Paris. Lecter carves his sister Mischa's first initial into Grutas and allows him to slowly bleed to death; Lecter also partially cannibalizes him.

He was portrayed by Rhys Ifans.

Reba McClane

Appears in "Red Dragon".

Reba is a blind woman who attracts the attention of serial killer Francis Dolarhyde, her co-worker at Gateway Film & Videotape Services. She and Dolarhyde begin a romantic relationship. Dolarhyde's newfound love conflicts with his homicidal urges, which manifest themselves in his mind as a separate personality he calls "The Great Red Dragon", after the William Blake painting.

Posing as a researcher, Dolarhyde enters the Brooklyn Museum, beats a museum secretary unconscious, and eats the original Blake watercolour of The Red Dragon which is kept there; he believes that if he consumes the Dragon, he can stop killing and pursue a normal relationship with Reba. Unfortunately, this only makes matters worse; the Red Dragon personality tries to kill Reba after seeing her with a fellow coworker and former lover. Dolarhyde tries to resist, but "the Dragon" commands him to kill the man and set Reba's house on fire. He then apparently commits suicide to save Reba from his murderous alter ego. In reality, however, he merely shot the already dead body of one his previous victims; Reba, being blind, did not know the difference.

In the end, Will Graham tries to reassure a traumatized and heart-broken Reba that she is not at fault: cquote|There was plenty wrong with Dolarhyde, but there's nothing wrong with you. You said he was kind and thoughtful to you. I believe it. That's what you brought out in him. At the end, he couldn't kill you and he couldn't watch you die. People who study this kind of thing say he was trying to stop. Why? Because you helped him. That probably saved some lives. You didn't draw a freak. You drew a man with a freak on his back.

Reba is portrayed by Joan Allen in 1986's "Manhunter", the first film adaptation of the novel, and by Emily Watson in the 2002 remake "Red Dragon".

Margot Verger

Appears in "Hannibal".

Margot Verger is described as tall and muscular with short blonde hair. She does not appear in the film version of "Hannibal". The sister of billionaire Mason Verger, Margot is a successful bodybuilder by trade. After coming out to her family, Margot is disowned by her father, a fundamentalist Southern Baptist who subsequently amends his will to state that any heir to the Verger fortune after Mason died be biologically verified through DNA testing as his grandchild.

Margot was molested and raped as a child by her brother. In the latter assault, Mason dislocates her arm. Haunted by the incident, she is sent to Dr. Hannibal Lecter for therapy. Lecter, disgusted by Mason's abuse, tells her that killing her brother would be cathartic. Years later, Lecter nearly kills Mason, breaking his neck and horrifically mutilating his face, in part to avenge the abuse Margot suffered. While Margot despises her brother, she remains loyal to him, even becoming his bodyguard in hopes that he will donate his sperm to her partner, Judy. Not only would this provide Margot and Judy with a longed-for child, it would satisfy the clause in Margot's father's will. Mason repeatedly refuses her, often pointing out that Lecter's assault had rendered him impotent and mockingly reminding her of her steroid-induced infertility.

Mason issues a private reward for Lecter's capture, intending to exact his revenge by feeding Lecter to a group of specially bred boars. Mason kidnaps Lecter, and orders Margot not to interfere with his plan. However, Margot goes to Lecter during his captivity and tells him about Mason's promised sperm donation. Lecter tells her not to expect a willing donation from Mason, insisting that the only way to get what Mason had promised her was to harvest it forcefully and that, furthermore, the only way for her to lead a normal life is to kill her brother. As a courtesy, Lecter promises to take the blame for Mason's murder by giving Margot a sample of his own hair and scalp to plant on Mason's body and leaving a message on her answering machine confessing to the murder. In exchange for covering up her murder of Mason, Margot agrees to help Hannibal by helping him capture Paul Krendler.

After killing Mason's personal physician, Margot uses a cattle prod to anally stimulate her brother's prostate, forcing him to ejaculate and symbolically "raping" him in return for his assault on her. Margot then kills Mason by shoving his beloved pet eel down his throat. Judy is successfully impregnated.

Paul Krendler

Appears in "Hannibal" and "The Silence of the Lambs".

. Lecter accepts, but the offer turns out to be fake. Although Starling's meetings were supposed to be confidential, Dr. Chilton has been taping her conversations with Lecter, and he engineers his own transfer plan with Senator Martin, promising Lecter a transfer in exchange for Buffalo Bill's identity. Lecter accepts, and the case is taken out of the FBI's hands and placed under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department, led by Krendler. Gumb had been the lover of one of Lecter's former patients, so he provides truthful information about him, except for his name. The crucial evidence, however, he reserves for Starling, and it is she who tracks Gumb down, not Krendler. He appears at her graduation, somewhat chagrined that she took credit for rescuing Catherine Martin.

After Starling is involved in a botched drug raid, which results not only in the death of the suspect - Evelda Drumgo - but also a fellow field officer, Starling's good friend, John Brigham. Krendler is called in to investigate any reckless or negligent behavior on Starling's part, and sees this as an opportunity to destroy her career. While it was not her fault, he blames her for causing the mess and killing a mother holding her child, despite the fact that Drumgo was trying to kill her. The publicity that Starling receives attracts the attention of one of Lecter's former victims, Mason Verger, and he recruits Krendler in his scheme to incriminate Starling in a bid to lure Lecter out of hiding so that Verger can exact his revenge. To this end, Krendler plants incriminating (and forged) letters from Lecter, indicating an intimate relationship between him and Starling, and creating the appearance that she is withholding evidence from the FBI. However, Starling is not fired but put on suspension of duty, much to his frustration, but she is now unable to stop Verger's men.

However, this scheme does attract Lecter's attention. In an attempt to contact Starling, Lecter is captured by Verger. Starling rescues him but is wounded in the attempt. Verger is killed by his sister, Margot, while Lecter takes Starling back to his rented home. Having figured out Krendler's role in the conspiracy, Lecter recruits Starling in avenging themselves on him. He kidnaps Krendler, drugs him, and performs a craniotomy upon him. Lecter, a drugged Starling, and Krendler himself then feast upon the brains of the alive-but-delirious Krendler. Krendler is eventually shot with a crossbow and killed.

In the film adaptation of "The Silence of the Lambs", Krendler is played by Ron Vawter. In the years between this film and the sequel, "Hannibal", Vawter had died from complications due to AIDS and was replaced by Ray Liotta.