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As The Silence of the Lambs<\/a><\/em> celebrates a major milestone, the actor behind Buffalo Bill is acknowledging that certain elements of the film have not stood the test of time.<\/p>\n On Valentine’s Day, the groundbreaking, Oscar-winning 1991 horror classic celebrated its 35th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Ted Levine \u2014 who earned acclaim for his portrayal of a serial killer who skinned his female victims \u2014 addressed critiques that it has earned from the queer and transgender communities.<\/p>\n “There are certain aspects of the movie that don’t hold up too well,” Levine told The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a> in a new interview. “We all know more, and I’m a lot wiser about transgender issues. There are some lines in that script and movie that are unfortunate.”<\/p>\n The Silence of the Lambs<\/em> follows FBI trainee Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster<\/a>, who teams up with imprisoned cannibal and expert psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins<\/a>) to track down Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb, a prolific serial killer who lures in and then peels his victims to create a “woman suit.”<\/p>\n While the script never explicitly states Buffalo Bill’s gender identity, and Lecter even argues that he is “not really transsexual,” it does note that Gumb unsuccessfully applied for gender-affirming surgery. Many viewers have interpreted the character as queer, with some critics denouncing the film for perpetuating negative stereotypes associated with the gay and trans communities.<\/p>\n