Home and Away star Rebecca Breeds scores lead role in Silence of the Lambs spin-off show, Clarice

Move over, Chris Hemsworth and Isabel Lucas. Another Home and Away star has just made an impression on those bigwigs over in Hollywood.

Aussie actress Rebecca Breeds has reportedly scored the lead role in the upcoming The Silence of the Lambs spin-off pilot — and she's stoked. 

"Thank you thank you thank you for the role of a lifetime!" Breeds gushed on Instagram after the news was announced on Wednesday. "Think I've earned myself a nice glass of Chianti."

Here is everything we know about the spin-off so far...

Who is Rebecca Breeds?

Aussie actress Rebecca Breeds became a household name thanks to her stint on Home and Away. The star played Ruby Buckton in the series between 2008 and 2012. In 2013, she married her Home and Away co-star Luke Mitchell, who played Romeo Smith on the show.

After leaving the series, Breeds left for Hollywood and has since starred in hit US TV shows The Originals and Pretty Little Liars. 

Who will Rebecca Breeds play in The Silence of the Lambs spin-off, Clarice?

Rebecca Breeds will play FBI Agent Clarice Starling, the lead role in the drama spin-off, Clarice. The character was made popular by Jodie Foster in the 1991 psychological thriller. 

In the movie's direct sequel Hannibal, which was released in 2001 and set 10 years after the original film, Clarice was played by actress Julianne Moore.

To play Clarice, Breeds will need to adopt a West Virginia accent, as did both Foster and Moore. 

What was the original The Silence of the Lambs movie about?

For those not familiar with the film, Jodie Foster played FBI Agent Clarice Starling who turned to serial killer and former psychiatrist, Dr Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins), to help her track down another killer who was preying on women.

The movie won five Oscars in 1992, with Foster and Hopkins each winning Best Actress and Best Actor gongs, respectively. The film also took home Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

What is the plot for The Silence of the Lambs spin-off, Clarice?

According to Deadline, Clarice will be set in 1993, one year after the events that unfolded in The Silence of the Lambs film. The sequel will follow Clarice's personal life rarely explored in the movie as she attempts to track down serial murderers and sexual predators in Washington, D.C.

"Clarice's bravery and complexity have always lit the way, even as her personal story remained in the dark," writers and executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet told Variety last month. "But hers is the very story we need today: her struggle, her resilience, her victory. Her time is now, and always." 

Who will play Dr Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs spin-off? 

At this stage, Deadline reports that Dr Hannibal Lecter — the terrifying character brought to life by Anthony Hopkins — is not expected to be revived for the spin-off.