Ted Levine remembers 'sweet man' Jonathan Demme

Ted Levine, who played the role of Buffalo Bill in maybe one of the most twisted and darkest movies ever made 'Silence of the Lambs,' remembers director Jonathan Demme for making the shoots so enjoyable.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 59-year-old-actor feels that the director was one of the most 'intensely sweet men' that he ever knew.

He said, 'He was one of the most intensely sweet men I have known. He was like an 11-year-old kid. He was always really excited about what he was doing.'

The Oscar-winning director died at the age of 73, due to complications related to esophageal cancer.

The ' Ray Donovan' star also revealed that he made the mood of the shoot lighter to counterbalance the dark subject matter.

'One of the reasons I do this work and enjoy it so much is the element of collaboration on a project, and Jonathan embodied that in a big way. And I have kept that with me and have used it as a means to measure other productions, the vibe on the set, which is orchestrated by the director and the first assistant director,' the actor noted. The actor also praised the generosity Jonathan showed with all the crew of the movie.

He shared, 'The way he would say 'wonderful' - 'He was just Wonderful!. And he was very generous with the crew and supportive of their work. I remember that an assistant prop guy on Lambs came up with the solution to a problem, and Jon pointed out on the set that this is the guy who did it. He gave his kudos in front of everyone, and it was cool.'

While remembering his portrayal of Buffalo Bill in ' Silence of the Lambs,' he shared that as a director Jon was worried that some people would get a wrong impression from Bill's character.

'There was a lot of concern that came up about a negative portrayal of homosexuality. I never thought that Bill was gay. He was psychotic. And critics were all over it for this, and others took offense to the characterization of it. But the fact of the matter is he was not interested in people of his own gender. So, there was a little bit of fear from Jon concerning that, but he was very supportive, and let me do what I did,' the actor said. Both the artists spoke with each other just a few days back, Levine shared.

'I was on a project in Hungary, and the showrunner and another person were veterans of Jon's, so we said let's take a picture and send it to him. He sent back an email saying how lovely it was to see our faces, and he wished he could be there with us,' Levine said. 'I thought that was a chance to say hello, but it turned out to be goodbye,' he added.

-ANI