Thomas Harris (born April 11, 1940) is an American author and screenwriter, best known for a series of suspense novels about his most famous character, Hannibal Lecter. All of his works have been made into films, the most notable being the multi-Oscar winning The Silence of the Lambs, which became only the third film in Academy Award history to sweep the Oscars in major categories.
Although he is known for writing dark and disturbing horror stories, he is known to friends and publishers as an extremely friendly, outgoing and polite person.
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Lives in South Florida and has a home in Sag Harbor, New York.
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Loves to cook.
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Fellow novelist Stephen King has remarked that if writing is sometimes tedious for other authors, to Harris it is like "writhing on the floor in agonies of frustration", because, for Harris, "the very act of writing is a kind of torment".
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He was very close to his mother and used to call her every night until her death in 2011.
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He has not watched Anthony Hopkins' iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter as he does not want his writing to be influenced by any one portrayal.
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Lives in South Florida.
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He has not given an interview since 1976.
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Was a reporter and editor for the Associated Press in New York City.
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Began his writing career covering crime in the United States of America and Mexico.
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Three of the actors who play his characters in the Hannibal Lecter films effectively reverse the roles that they played in earlier films. Anthony Hopkins was cast as Lecter to be the polar opposite of Dr. Treves from The Elephant Man (1980). Jodie Foster went from captive in Taxi Driver (1976) to rescuer in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Harvey Keitel went from playing Foster's pimp in Taxi Driver (1976) to playing her (future) mentor in Red Dragon (2002).
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All of his novels have been adapted into films. Black Sunday (1977) is the only one that does not feature the character Hannibal Lecter. Manhunter (1986) is the only one that does not retain the novel's original title.
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Though most of the characters in the Hannibal Lecter novels are American, quite a few of them have been played by British actors. Hannibal Lecter was revealed in Hannibal to have been Lithuanian, but spent most of his life in Maryland. The first actor to play him, Brian Cox, is Scottish, while Anthony Hopkins is Welsh. Reba McClain, the love interest of Francis Dollarhyde in Red Dragon (2002), was originally played by Joan Allen in Manhunter (1986), but she was succeeded in Red Dragon (2002) by Emily Watson. Likewise, Tom Noonan, who played Dollarhyde, was succeeded by Ralph Fiennes. The villain in Hannibal (2001), Mason Verger, was played by Gary Oldman.
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While he was in Italy researching for his book "Hannibal," Thomas Harris attended to the trial of the serial killer known as the Monster of Florence.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Hannibal
2013-2015
TV Series characters from the book "Red Dragon" - 39 episodes
Hannibal Rising
2007
novel "Hannibal Rising" / screenplay
Red Dragon
2002
novel "Red Dragon"
Hannibal
2001
novel "Hannibal"
Sangharsh
1999
novel - uncredited
The Silence of the Lambs
1991
novel
Manhunter
1986
based on the book "Red Dragon" by
Black Sunday
1977
based on the novel by
Thanks
Title
Year
Status
Character
Inside Story: The Silence of the Lambs
2010
TV Movie documentary special thanks
Inside the Labyrinth: The Making of 'The Silence of the Lambs'
2001
Video documentary special thanks
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Raketfart
2001
TV Series
Himself - Author
Won Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2007
Lifetime Achievement Award
Bram Stoker Awards
Nominated Awards
Year
Award
Ceremony
Nomination
Movie
2003
WGA Award (TV)
Writers Guild of America, USA
News - Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking Report
$1.5 Million
