Past Hannibal Lecter portrayers Cox and Hopkins co-star in 'RED 2'

NEW YORK, July 2 (UPI) -- Welsh-born actor Anthony Hopkins says he and his "RED 2" co-star Brian Cox never discussed how they both previously played serial killer Hannibal Lecter in films.

Cox portrayed the cannibalistic psychiatrist in the 1986 TV movie "Manhunter," while Hopkins won an Oscar for his depiction of the iconic character in the 1991 big-screen thriller "The Silence of the Lambs." Hopkins also starred in the "Silence" prequel "Red Dragon" and sequel "Hannibal."

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen currently plays the character in the TV series "Hannibal."

Asked at a recent New York press conference for "RED 2" if he and Cox talked about their past shared role, Hopkins replied, "We didn't mention Hannibal Lecter.

"It was a long time ago. No, it was the press guy, the publicist there and the photographer said, 'We have to get a shot of the two of you,'" he said explaining the buzz created by his on-screen pairing with Cox in "RED 2."

"But that's long gone. That's 20, 25 years ago. No, no, we didn't even think of that," Hopkins continued. "I hadn't seen Brian for a long time. I didn't even know him that well. We met a few times, but we didn't really know each other. So, it was great to see him. The first day we met and the only day we met [during production] was for that airport scene. But, no, we didn't discuss anything. We talked about Russia because I was going off to Moscow for my birthday. He's spent a lot of time there and was telling me all about it. That was the main bulk of our conversation. There was nothing about Lecter at all. No."

"RED 2" stars Bruce Willis as a retired black-ops CIA agent who reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing, next-generation lethal device that can change the balance of world power, a synopsis on the film's website said. Co-starring John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the movie opens in U.S. theaters July 19.