In an interview with Vulture magazine Anthony Hopkins wished Mads Mikkelsen "good luck" and advised him to play Lecter as "ordinary".
"The key is, when playing a crazy man like that, is to play the total opposite," Hopkins said. "Play him as totally sane. Play him as ordinary [and] don't try to be evil."
http://www.vulture.com/2012/11/anthony-hopkins-hitchcock-interview.html
