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Paul Krendler is a minor character in Thomas Harris' novel, Silence of the Lambs and its film adaptation, the secondary antagonist of its sequel novel, Hannibal and one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Cordell Doemling) in its film adaptation. He is also a supporting character in the CBS series Clarice.

He is introduced in The Silence of the Lambs as a powerful bureaucrat in the U.S. Justice Department charged with transporting Hannibal Lecter to a prison facility. In Hannibal, he is the immediate superior and nemesis of protagonist Clarice Starling. He conspires with Lecter's surviving victim Mason Verger to discredit Starling and kidnap Lecter, as part of Verger's plan to get revenge against the latter.

Portrayals[]

• In the adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs, he was portrayed by the late Ron Vawter.
• In the film adaptation of Hannibal, he was portrayed by the late Ray Liotta, who has also played Ray Sinclair in Something Wild, Henry Hill in Goodfellas, Pete Davis in Unlawful Entry, Ryan Weaver in Turbulence, Dorothy Macha in Revolver, Samuel Rhodes in Identity, Jack Blade in Wild Hogs, Gallian in In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, Roy DeMeo in The Iceman, Hollywood Dick Moltisanti in The Many Saints of Newark, Syd White in Cocaine Bear, Tommy Vercetti in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Billy Handsome in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
• In the CBS TV series Clarice, he was portrayed by Michael Cudlitz, who also portrayed Francis Goehring in Criminal Minds and Lex Luthor in Superman & Lois'.

Biography[]

Silence of the Lambs[]

Krendler is introduced as a high-ranking bureaucrat in the U.S. Justice Department who briefly takes custody of Hannibal Lecter as the serial killer is being transferred to a maximum security prison. When Lecter escapes, Krendler shifts the blame onto the FBI, particularly Agent-In-Training Clarice Starling and Agent-in-Charge Jack Crawford.

Clarice[]

In the CBS series Clarice, Krendler has risen up the ranks in the Justice Department. He is the immediate superior of FBI Agent Clarice Starling, three years after she rescued Catherine Martin. He envies Starling's celebrity, believing that she "got lucky" in finding Catherine's captor Buffalo Bill, and resents her presence on his task force, ordered by Attorney General Ruth Martin, Catherine's mother.

Hannibal[]

Ten years after Lecter’s escape, Krendler is still Clarice's immediate superior, whom he resents because she "told him to go home to his wife" when he made a pass at her.

When Starling's reputation is tarnished following a botched drug raid, Krendler pretends to help her by putting her in charge of tracking down Lecter, who has recently resurfaced by writing her a letter.

Unbeknownst to Starling, Krendler is working for Lecter's surviving victim Mason Verger, who is paying him to discredit Starling in order to lure Lecter back to the United States, as part of Verger's larger plan to torture and kill him. On Verger's orders, Krendler accuses Starling of withholding evidence, jeopardizing her career and provoking her into pursuing Lecter alone, which allows Verger's men to kidnap them both.

​​​​​​Later on, after Verger has been killed and Lecter has escaped with Starling, Lecter appears at Krendler's vacation house and takes him hostage. He lobotomizes Krendler and prepares a gourmet meal out of his hostage's prefontal cortex, which a dazed Krendler eats, calling it "delicious". Lecter then kills him by shooting him with a crossbow.

External Links[]

• Paul Krendler on the Hannibal Wiki

Navigation[]

Villains

Novels Hannibal Lecter • Garret Jacob Hobbs† • Francis Dolarhyde† • Paul Krendler† • Buffalo Bill† • Mason Verger† • Rinaldo Pazzi† • Cordell Doemling† • Vladis Grutas† • Grutas' Group† (Petras Kolnas† • Zigmas Milko† • Enrikas Dortlich† • Bronys Grentz† • Kazys Porvik†) • Paul Momund† • Dieter† • Louis Ferrat† Movies Hannibal Lecter/Lecktor • Francis Dolarhyde† • Paul Krendler† • Buffalo Bill† • Mason Verger† • Rinaldo Pazzi† • Cordell Doemling† • Vladis Grutas† • Grutas' Group† (Petras Kolnas† • Zigmas Milko† • Enrikas Dortlich† • Bronys Grentz† • Kazys Porvik†) • Paul Momund† • Dieter† • Louis Ferrat† Television Hannibal Hannibal Lecter • Alana Bloom • Garret Jacob Hobbs† • Abigail Hobbs† • Abel Gideon† • Tobias Budge† • Randall Tier† • Eva • Clark Ingram • Eldon Stammets • Elliot Buddish† • Tobias Budge† • Matthew Brown • Lawrence Wells • Kade Prurnell • Mason Verger† • Rinaldo Pazzi† • Matteo Deogracias† • Tommaso† • Francis Dolarhyde† Clarice Nils Hagen† • Tyson Conway† • Joe Hudlin† • Mike Diaz† • Paul Krendler† • Marylin Felker† • Karl Wellig† • Marybeth Kern • Gerry Kern, Jr. • Lucas Novak† • Sheriff Rowan