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Lea Michele’s ‘Scream Queens’ Character Eerily Similar To Hannibal Lecter, And Why She Would Rather Date Zac Efron Than Any Of Taylor Swift’s Exes

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 02:41 PST, Oct 19, 2016

Lea Michele’s character in the Scream Queens television series is invoking the memories of the dangerous Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the villain of the Hannibal Lecter franchise.

Previously, Hester Ulrich, Lea’s character, was jailed in a high-security prison after the last episode of Season One exposed her as Red Devil killer who committed murders on campus. In the second episode of Season Two, Lea’s Hester is visited by Cathy Munsch, the Chanels, and Denise Hemphill who wish to seek her help to unmask “Green Meanie,” the show’s new serial killer who is terrorizing Cathy Munsch’s hospital that is run by Dr. Brock Holt and Dr. Cassidy Cascade.

Hester reveals that she will be able to help the group by getting into the mind of the murderer, but only on the condition that they transfer her to the Cathy’s medical institute. Hester’s unusual proposal is reminiscent of a similar proposition that was made by Hannibal Lecter to Agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, the 1991 movie that shows Hannibal offering his help to nab a serial killer in exchange for a transfer to another asylum.

Hannibal, a character created by author Thomas Harris, is depicted as a forensic psychiatrist who is also a cannibalistic killer. Entertainment Weekly reports that it may be speculated that the creators of Scream Queens were heavily influenced by Thomas Harris’s famous character, because Lea Michele’s incarcerated character is shown to wear a face mask similar to the one that was worn by Hannibal in The Silence of the Lambs.

It is still not confirmed whether Lea’s role in Scream Queen will evolve along the lines of Hannibal’s creepy journey. With John Stamos, Taylor Lautner, and Ariana Grande joining the cast in Season Two, the murder mystery will surely deepen and audiences will have to play guessing games until the climax of the current season.

In real life, Lea Michele is quite the opposite of Hester Ulrich, the antagonist, as when she is not busy with her various acting roles she prides herself on being an activist who works for youth empowerment, PETA, and the Alzheimer’s Association. In fact, Lea Michele closely resembles Rachel Berry, her character in Fox’s Glee, in many respects.

Earlier, Lea Michele revealed that she had been previously subjected to alienation and bullying for failing to conform to the beauty standards set by her high school peers, but she was strong and dedicated — like her Glee character — who worked hard to be famous by believing in her talent.

Since Lea Michele has already established herself as a talented actor, she is often asked about her preferences for a romantic partner. Recently, Lea Michele appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she played the “Would You Rather?” game with Ellen. According to Time magazine, the Scream Queen actoress’s fans got a fair idea about her ideal romantic partner when she selected Zac Efron over Taylor Swift’s former beaus like Taylor Lautner, Calvin Harris, and Tom Hiddleston.

Being a young and dedicated actress, it is natural for Lea Michele to believe in herself and her ideas about romance. However, fans may be interested to learn that Lea also believes in ghosts. Recently, the actress revealed that she used to stay in a New York apartment which she is convinced was haunted. According to People magazine, Lea Michele spoke about the horror she experienced when she heard voices singing scales in the haunted house.

“I would hear women singing a lot. Like, warming up, like scales. And I’d be downstairs, and the windows would slam shut and I found out that it used to be a nunnery in the early 1900s.”

[Featured Image by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images]

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