Sunday afternoon, Hannibal’s most captivating stars joined NYCC to dive deep into the horrifying scope of Hannibal. Moderated by Nerdist’s Rotem Rusak, Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen engaged the audience in a conversation about balancing the show’s thrills and art.
The panel kicked off with Will Graham’s thoughts on cannibalism, which Hugh Dancy hilariously summarized as “less is more.” Which is apropos of the chemistry between the two which always seemed more interested in indicating something than doing it, according to Mikkelsen. Dancy goes on to say that he thinks Will’s favorite book is an instructional manual, while Mikkelsen’s answer to Hannibal’s is simply “the Old Testament.” They both showed appreciation to fans for sharing not only how much they love the show, but how it has helped during hard times.
On the topic of present work, Mikkelsen revealed that he has “not seen any of [Mufasa],” and is excited about his next collaboration with Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller, Dust Bunny. Dancy, meanwhile, is currently on Law & Order which he says is trying new things this season, like introducing his character’s family.
The panel went into the psychology of the characters and the awkward questions that arise from that. Mikkelsen said that it was best not to argue with the framework of the characters. According to Dancy, it was surprising how little the crimes being investigated were a part of the show. They started discussing what other franchises they would like to delve into with Mikkelsen volunteering to being the “saddest zombie” on The Walking Dead. Dancy answered with Harry Potter because he is currently rereading that with his child, but Doctor Who was another franchise that was considered.
As the panel winded down, Mikkelsen summarized the difference between the characters as Hannibal having the ability to “choose” who he shows empathy to while Will has too much empathy “he can’t control.” That chaotic dynamic is why they ended up at the bottom of the sea in the finale… probably.
