Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE is a Welsh
actor of film, stage, and television, and a composer.
After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 1957, he trained at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and was then spotted by Laurence Olivier who invited
him to join the Royal National Theatre.
In 1968, he got his break in film in The Lion in Winter playing Richard I.
Considered to be one of the greatest living actors, Hopkins is well known for his portrayal
of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Academy Award for Best
Actor, its sequel Hannibal, and the prequel Red Dragon.
Other notable films include The Mask of Zorro, The Bounty, Meet Joe Black, The Elephant Man,
Magic, 84 Charing Cross Road, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Legends of the Fall, Thor, The Remains
of the Day, Amistad, Nixon, The World's Fastest Indian, Instinct, and Fracture.
Along with his Academy Award, Hopkins has also won three BAFTA Awards, two Emmys and
the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
In 1993, Hopkins was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts.
He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003, and was made a Fellow of the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2008.
Early life Hopkins was born in Margam, Port Talbot, Wales,
on 31 December 1937, the son of Muriel Anne (née Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a
baker.
His schooldays were unproductive; he found that he would rather immerse himself in art,
such as painting and drawing, or playing the piano, than attend to his studies.
In 1949, to instill discipline, his parents insisted he attend Jones' West Monmouth Boys'
School in Pontypool, Wales.
He remained there for five terms and was then educated at Cowbridge Grammar School in the
Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
Hopkins was influenced and encouraged to become an actor by Welsh compatriot Richard Burton
(who was also born in Port Talbot), whom he met briefly at the age of 15.
To that end, he enrolled at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Wales,
from which he graduated in 1957.
After two years in the British Army doing his national service, he moved to London,
where he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Career Roles
Hopkins made his first professional stage appearance in the Palace Theatre, Swansea,
in 1960 with Swansea Little Theatre's production of Have a Cigarette.
In 1965, after several years in repertory, he was spotted by Sir Laurence Olivier, who
invited him to join the Royal National Theatre.
Hopkins became Olivier's understudy, and filled in when Olivier was struck with appendicitis
during a production of August Strindberg's The Dance of Death.
Olivier later noted in his memoir, Confessions of an Actor, that "A new young actor in the
company of exceptional promise named Anthony Hopkins was understudying me and walked away
with the part of Edgar like a cat with a mouse between its teeth."
Despite his success at the National, Hopkins tired of repeating the same roles nightly
and yearned to be in films.
He made his small-screen debut in a 1967 BBC broadcast of A Flea in Her Ear.
In 1968, he got his break in The Lion in Winter playing Richard I, along with Peter O'Toole,
Katharine Hepburn, and future James Bond star Timothy Dalton.
Although Hopkins continued in theatre (most notably at the National Theatre as Lambert
Le Roux in Pravda by David Hare and Howard Brenton and as Antony in Antony and Cleopatra
opposite Judi Dench as well as in the Broadway production of Peter Shaffer's Equus, directed
by John Dexter) he gradually moved away from it to become more established as a television
and film actor.
His Pierre Bezukhov for the BBC War and Peace (1972) was particularly memorable.
In 1972 he portrayed WWI British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Young Winston, and in
1977 he played British Army officer John Frost in Richard Attenborough's WWII film A Bridge
Too Far.
He has since gone on to enjoy a long career, winning many plaudits and awards for his performances.
In 1980 he starred in The Elephant Man as the English doctor Sir Frederick Treves, who
attends to Joseph Merrick (portrayed by John Hurt), a severely deformed man in 19th century
London.
That year he also starred opposite Shirley MacLaine in A Change of Seasons and famously
said “she was the most obnoxious actress I have ever worked with."
In 1984 he starred opposite Mel Gibson in The Bounty as William Bligh, captain of the
Royal Navy ship the HMS Bounty, in a retelling of the mutiny on the Bounty.
Hopkins was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987, and a Knight Bachelor
in 1993.
In 1988, Hopkins was made an Honorary D.Litt and in 1992 was awarded Honorary fellowship
from the University of Wales, Lampeter.
A few years later in a The Tonight Show with Jay Leno appearance, Hopkins humbly admitted
that he liked his American fans and friends to call him "Tony".
Hopkins was Britain's highest paid performer in 1998, starring in The Mask of Zorro and
Meet Joe Black, and also agreed to reprise his role as Dr Hannibal Lecter for a fee of
£15 million.
Hopkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
Hopkins has stated that his role as Burt Munro, whom he portrayed in his 2005 film The World's
Fastest Indian, was his favourite.
He also asserted that Munro was the easiest role that he had played because both men have
a similar outlook on life.
In 2006, Hopkins was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime
achievement.
In 2008, he received the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award, the highest award the British Film
Academy can bestow.
Hopkins portrayed Odin, the Allfather or "king" of Asgard, in the film adaptation of Marvel
Comics' Thor.
On 24 February 2010, it was announced that Hopkins had been cast in the supernatural
thriller The Rite, which was released on 28 January 2011.
He played a priest who is "an expert in exorcisms and whose methods are not necessarily traditional".
Hopkins, who is quoted as saying "I don't know what I believe, myself personally", reportedly
wrote a line--"Some days I don't know if I believe in God or Santa Claus or Tinkerbell"—into
his character in order to identify with it.
On the other hand, in other sources from the same time, he is quoted as saying that he
did believe in God and had done so for decades.
On 21 September 2011, Peter R. de Vries named Hopkins in the role of the Heineken owner
Freddy Heineken in a future film about his kidnapping.
Hopkins portrayed Alfred Hitchcock in Sacha Gervasi's biopic Hitchcock, following his
career while making Psycho.
The film was released on 23 November 2012.
In 2013, he reprised his role as Odin in Thor: The Dark World.
In 2014, he portrayed Methuselah in Darren Aronofsky's Noah.
Acting style Hopkins is renowned for his preparation for
roles.
He has indicated in interviews that once he has committed to a project, he will go over
his lines as many times as is needed (sometimes upwards of 200) until the lines sound natural
to him, so that he can "do it without thinking".
This leads to an almost casual style of delivery that belies the amount of groundwork done
beforehand.
While it can allow for some careful improvisation, it has also brought him into conflict with
the occasional director who departs from the script, or demands what the actor views as
an excessive number of takes.
Hopkins has stated that after he is finished with a scene, he simply discards the lines,
not remembering them later on.
This is unlike others who usually remember their lines from a film even years later.
Richard Attenborough, who has directed Hopkins on five occasions, found himself going to
great lengths during the filming of Shadowlands (1993) to accommodate the differing approaches
of his two stars (Hopkins and Debra Winger), who shared many scenes.
Whereas Hopkins, preferring the spontaneity of a fresh take, liked to keep rehearsals
to a minimum, Winger rehearsed continuously.
To allow for this, Attenborough stood in for Hopkins during Winger's rehearsals, only bringing
him in for the last one before a take.
The director praised Hopkins for "this extraordinary ability to make you believe when you hear
him that it is the very first time he has ever said that line.
It's an incredible gift."
Renowned for his ability to remember lines, Hopkins keeps his memory supple by learning
things by heart such as poetry, and Shakespeare.
In Steven Spielberg's Amistad, Hopkins astounded the crew with his memorisation of a seven-page
courtroom speech, delivering it in one go.
An overawed Spielberg couldn't bring himself to call him Tony, and insisted on addressing
him as Sir Anthony throughout the shoot.
Hopkins is a gifted mimic, adept at turning his native Welsh accent into whatever is required
by a character.
He duplicated the voice of his late mentor, Laurence Olivier, for additional scenes in
Spartacus in its 1991 restoration.
His interview on the 1998 relaunch edition of the British TV talk show Parkinson featured
an impersonation of comedian Tommy Cooper.
Hopkins has said acting "like a submarine" has helped him to deliver credible performances
in his thriller movies.
He said, "It's very difficult for an actor to avoid, you want to show a bit.
But I think the less one shows the better."
Hannibal Lecter Perhaps Hopkins' most famous role is as the
cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he
won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1991, opposite Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling,
who also won for Best Actress.
The film won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
It is one of the shortest lead performances to win an Oscar, as Hopkins only appears on
screen for little over 16 minutes, less than 14% of the film's running time.
Hopkins reprised his role as Lecter twice in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).
His original portrayal of the character in The Silence of the Lambs has been labelled
by the American Film Institute as the number-one film villain.
At the time he was offered the role, Hopkins was making a return to the London stage, performing
in M. Butterfly.
He had come back to Britain after living for a number of years in Hollywood, having all
but given up on a career there, saying, "Well that part of my life's over; it's a chapter
closed.
I suppose I'll just have to settle for being a respectable actor poncing around the West
End and doing respectable BBC work for the rest of my life."
Hopkins played the iconic villain in adaptations of the first three of the Lecter novels by
Thomas Harris.
The author was reportedly very pleased with Hopkins' portrayal of his antagonist.
However, Hopkins stated that Red Dragon would feature his final performance as the character,
and that he would not reprise even a narrative role in the latest addition to the series,
Hannibal Rising.
Personal life As of 2007, Hopkins resides in Los Angeles.
He had moved to the United States once before during the 1970s to pursue his film career,
but returned to London in the late 1980s.
However, he decided to return to the US following his 1990s success.
Retaining his British citizenship, he became a naturalised US citizen on 12 April 2000,
and celebrated with a 3,000-mile road trip across the country.
Hopkins has been married three times.
His first two wives were Petronella Barker (1966–1972) and Jennifer Lynton (1973–2002).
He is now married to Colombian-born Stella Arroyave.
He has a daughter from his first marriage, Abigail Hopkins (b.
20 August 1968), who is an actress and singer.
On Christmas Eve 2012, Hopkins celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary by renewing his
vows at St David's Cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
Hopkins has offered his support to various charities and appeals, notably becoming President
of the National Trust's Snowdonia Appeal, raising funds for the preservation of the
Snowdonia National Park in north Wales, which in 1998 he donated £1 million towards, and
to aid the Trust's efforts to purchase parts of Snowdon.
Prior to the campaign, Hopkins authored Anthony Hopkins' Snowdonia, which was published in
1995.
Hopkins has been a patron of the YMCA centre in his hometown of Port Talbot, South Wales
for more than 20 years, having first joined the YMCA in the 1950s.
Hopkins also takes time to support other various philanthropic groups.
He was a Guest of Honour at a Gala Fundraiser for Women in Recovery, Inc., a Venice, California-based
non-profit organisation offering rehabilitation assistance to women in recovery from substance
abuse.
Although he resides in Malibu, California he is also a volunteer teacher at the Ruskin
School of Acting in Santa Monica, California.
Hopkins was an alcoholic; he stopped drinking on 25 December 1975.
He said that a major help in his recovery was his belief in God.
He has also criticised atheism, saying "being an atheist must be like living in a closed
cell with no windows”.
He quit smoking using the Allen Carr method.
As stated to TMZ in October 2010, Hopkins is a vegetarian.
In 2008, he embarked on a weight loss programme, and by 2010, he had lost 80 pounds.
The Anthony Hopkins Centre, a £2.3 million wing of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
in Cardiff, was named after him.
Hopkins is a prominent member of environmental protection group Greenpeace and as of early
2008 featured in a television advertisement campaign, voicing concerns about Japan's continuing
annual whale hunt.
Hopkins has been a patron of RAPt (Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust) since its early
days and helped open their first intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation unit at Downview
(HM Prison) in 1992.
He is an admirer of the comedian Tommy Cooper.
On 23 February 2008, as patron of the Tommy Cooper Society, the actor unveiled a commemorative
statue in the entertainer's home town of Caerphilly, South Wales.
For the ceremony, Hopkins donned Cooper's trademark fez and performed a comic routine.
There is a wax replica of Hopkins, seated, in Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Amsterdam.
Other work In 1986, he released a single called "Distant
Star", which peaked at No. 75 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 2007, he announced he would retire temporarily from the screen to tour around the world.
Hopkins has also written music for the concert hall, in collaboration with Stephen Barton
as orchestrator.
These compositions include The Masque of Time, given its world premiere with the Dallas Symphony
Orchestra in October 2008, and Schizoid Salsa.
In 1990, Hopkins directed "Dylan Thomas: Return Journey" which was his directing debut for
the screen.
In 1996, he directed August, an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya set in Wales.
His first screenplay, an experimental drama called Slipstream, which he also directed
and scored, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.
In 1997, Hopkins narrated BBC natural documentary series, Killing for a Living, which showed
predatory behaviour in nature.
He narrated episode 1 through 3 before being replaced by John Shrapnel.
Hopkins is a fan of the BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses, and once remarked in an interview
how he would love to appear in the series.
Writer John Sullivan saw the interview, and with Hopkins in mind created the character
Danny Driscoll, a local villain.
However, filming of the new series coincided with the filming of The Silence of the Lambs,
making Hopkins unavailable.
The role instead went to Roy Marsden.
On 31 October 2011, André Rieu released an album for which Hopkins composed a waltz called
"And the Waltz Goes On".
The album was given the same name as the song.
In January 2012, Hopkins released an album of classical music, entitled Composer, performed
by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra released by Decca.
Awards and nominations