Jonathan Demme initially didn’t want to cast Jodie Foster.
He told Paul Thomas Anderson in an Austin Film Festival conversation that he was initially talking to Michelle Pfeiffer about playing Clarice Starling, but that Foster asked for a chance, telling him, “I love this book so much and I love this part so much.” He said she loved that it was “about one young woman trying desperately to save the life of another young woman” — with men as obstacles.
He remembered thinking, “Hm, that is rather a great theme. I think I’m gonna take that theme and claim it but I’m not gonna cast her.”
He then wanted Meg Ryan to play the part, but he said Ryan seemed almost offended by the script. Then Laura Dern won him over with a great audition.
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Just read the books. This conversation never occurred. It was only the thought process she went through in Clarice's mind after she found Lecter's message on the map. The movie needed a vehicle to convey that message to the audience so they used Ardelia Mapp as the voice of her conscience.