It's never too late: how Anthony Hopkins fell in love with social networks

Biography

Anthony Hopkins is one of the most famous actors and directors who became a legend during his lifetime. The Briton's popularity was brought to him by the role of the main movie villain of all time - the eccentric psychopath, intellectual and serial killer Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins played this role in Hannibal, Red Dragon and, of course, in The Silence of the Lambs, which is considered a national cultural heritage of the United States and included in the hundred outstanding horror films in the history of cinema.

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Actor and director Anthony Hopkins
It now depends on Anthony’s opinion who will receive the BAFTA Award, and he himself is an Oscar and Emmy winner. And in his youth, Hopkins heard more than once that his future was vague and he would not achieve heights.

“The best of us develop late. The contempt with which you are treated is the engine of everything. What happened to me in life became a revelation for me,” this is the actor’s everyday philosophy.

From horror to Chopin

Soft, muffled speech with enveloping overtones. Sharp, ironic look from deep-set eyes. An elegant dark suit, a crisp white apache shirt. Anthony Hopkins himself. Actor from God. Idol. Knight of the British Empire.

The 72-year-old master of disguises' track record includes Othello, Uncle Vanya, Nixon, and, of course, Hannibal Lecter, the most spectacular villain of humanity. John Talbot, the owner of a gloomy Victorian palace in the newest version of the gothic horror film “The Wolf Man,” is outwardly a completely civil gentleman, but in his devilish essence he will give Dr. Lecter a hundred points ahead. I spoke with Sir Hopkins, who played Sir Talbot, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Russian newspaper:

Did you grow a beard specifically for The Wolf Man?

Anthony Hopkins:

Several stories needed my beard at once. I don't shave it off.

RG:

In the original 1941 film starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot, aka the werewolf, your character, his father, is a minor character.

Hopkins:

No complexes. In addition, the producers and director Don Johnston added dialogue and scenes for me. There are two names on the posters - mine and Benicio Del Toro.

RG:

They say you gave advice to Benicio, and he looked into your mouth.

Hopkins:

Benicio doesn't need advice. Great actor, great guy. Producers always expect Shakespearean depth from me. What stupidity! I took Sir Talbot and gave him a thorough shake-up. He played such a very calm person, quiet, cold, tough. It should become clear why he separated from one son, and the death of another should be intriguing. Your brother’s body was found in a ditch, he tells Lawrence, you arrived on time, made it to the funeral (Hopkins recites the phrase as in the film). And all this with an icy, indifferent intonation! And then the father sits down and plays the same icy music on the piano. My character is not crazy, he's just a strange, eccentric guy. In the depths of his soul he hides a terrible secret, in the depths of his eyes - death. My father was the same cold tyrant. He considered me a failure, I had to defend myself, fight off his attacks. I loved him, of course. He was a gentleman, but, like many men, he was terrified of showing weakness and compensated for his fear with exaggerated firmness.

RG:

Can you tell us about your character's transformations?

Hopkins:

No. The studio forbids me from giving away secrets. One thing I can say: Rick Baker is the most virtuoso make-up artist in the world. Six Oscars don't just happen.

RG:

Well, they issued it. It is clear that we are not talking about human makeup.

Hopkins:

(Grins.) I didn’t tell you anything.

RG:

Why do mysticism and horror always attract viewers?

Hopkins:

I think Carl Jung said that if you suppress the dark sides of the soul, they will inevitably show up in some other way. Suicide, alcohol, drugs, depression, you know... Everyone has secrets, we just don't like to show them. The dark and mystical always has a connotation of evil. But there is no direct connection here. Puritan people sometimes turn out to be monsters - take Hitler or Stalin.

RG:

How can an ordinary mortal cope with anger, envy, and other evil impulses?

Hopkins:

I can share my own experience. I read a lot, listen to music. Helps cleanse the soul. I am not at all an inveterate intellectual, not a snob, God forbid. It just so happened that my family was dysfunctional, and in my youth I experienced a bitter feeling of restlessness, for a long time I could not find an activity that I liked. Everything seemed to be going downhill. And only when I started performing as an actor did I find support and meaning. Nothing to regret. Trials not only toughen you up, but also make you appreciate what you have.

RG:

Is this your life philosophy?

Hopkins:

There is no need to talk nonsense and waste time on this. Life is short. I am a rationalist, a cold, rational person. I'm tough. I don't like whiners. That's probably why it's easy for me to play hard-hearted types like Talbot. But this does not mean that I have no compassion, no empathy for people, not at all.

RG:

It looks like you have some special acting technique.

Hopkins:

I'm getting ready. I'm getting used to the character. Adding touches. I studied the Stanislavski method at drama school in London. And then he gradually developed his own method. When preparing for filming, I repeat all my character’s phrases 250 times. Why exactly 250? For me this is a magic number. No more, no less.

RG:

Is it harder to play as you get older?

Hopkins:

No, it's easier. I'm currently filming Thor with Kenneth Branagh. The plot is mythological, I play the father of Thor, the god of thunder. Keep in mind, I have other things to do. I paint pictures and compose music. I paint faces and landscapes. I work with acrylic and colored pencils. I'll have an exhibition in London soon. I compose symphonic pieces. They recently performed my stuff in Australia. And this year I am planning a joint concert with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In The Wolf Man, I improvise on the piano as Sir Talbot. At home I try to play music every day to keep fit. I love Bach, Chopin, Scriabin.

RG:

You have been called the best living actor in the world. Do you agree?

Hopkins:

What is Best Actor? Nonsense! We are all different. How can we all be treated with the same brush? Who's better, Jeff Bridges or Meryl Streep?! Exercises in chatter. The disease of our time is to put everything on shelves.

RG:

Otherwise, modern man will drown in the chaos of events.

Hopkins:

He's already drowning! I'm very concerned about mechanization. People want to become robots. Look at the catwalks, fashion models stride along them, all the same, such thin (he sucks in his cheeks strongly - O.S.), faceless, disembodied machines. It's the same in movies. The same dream of becoming a machine, a cybernetic device. Wolfman, Iron Man, Spiderman, Superman. The human is decreasing, the mechanical is growing - we return to Fritz Lang's Metropolis. And what is the pandemonium around the “stars”? What is Lindsay doing? Who did Paris come out with? Pathetic little people, the paparazzi, sniff out everything, depriving the actors of their personal lives. Disgusting, disgusting. The savagery of our time. However, why ours? Degradation accompanied the decline of other empires. Louis XIV, Russian Tsars, Tudors in England. And France? Read Emile Zola - "Germinal", "Nana". A corrupt, dirty, decadent society. Nothing to do with humanism, with the true goals of humanity.

RG:

What advice do you have for the younger generation?

Hopkins:

Enjoy life. That's all. Don't be sad about the past, don't worry about the future. I breathe, breathe, and it's wonderful! Today, now, is the only thing that matters. You begin to understand a lot when you lose your parents. My mother died nine years ago, she was 89. And recently my friend died, just over 60. Suddenly. Bang - and the person is gone. Religious people see God's providence in everything. I don't know if this is true or not. The world is full of violence and destruction. Is this also God's providence? May be. I know one thing - you have to live your life to the fullest, never looking back.

Childhood and youth

Anthony Hopkins was born in Wales, in the town of Margam. His parents Richard Arthur and Muriel Ann were bakers and ran their own bakery. At first, Anthony was home-schooled, but at the age of 12 he finally gave in to his parents' demands and went to the best boarding school in Wales, Jones' West Monmouth, which was located in the city of Pontypool and was intended exclusively for boys. Young Hopkins was able to stay there for 2.5 years. Congenital dyslexia did not allow him to keep up with his classmates.

Then the boy comes to the correct conclusion that it will be much more useful for him to choose a creative profession for himself. Initially, he was aimed at music and the visual arts, as he could draw well and play the piano very well. But in 1952, Anthony Hopkins accidentally met Richard Burton, who was a fairly famous actor. It was he who convinced the young man that he was quite capable of making a decent acting career.

Anthony Hopkins in his youth (still from the film “When the Eight Bells Toll”)

Having listened to the advice of an older friend, Anthony entered the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and graduated with honors in 1957. After college, the young man had several years of service in the British Armed Forces. After demobilization, Hopkins moved to London and entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Having received a diploma as a professional theater actor, Anthony Hopkins plays in a small London theater, and since 1965 he has appeared on the stage of the Royal National Theater. There he became an understudy for the famous Laurence Olivier. Hopkins was a member of this troupe until 1970, and the most famous performance with his participation was August Strindberg’s play “Dances of Death.”

Movies

While still playing on the stage of the Royal National Theater, Hopkins starred in episodes of such films as “A Flea in Her Ear,” “The White Bus,” and “Mirror War.” The Lion in Winter with Peter O'Tull, Katharine Hepburn and Timothy Dalton stands out. The historical drama was strewn with awards in the form of 3 Oscars, 2 Golden Globes and 2 British Academy Film Awards.

Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezukhov (still from the series "War and Peace")

In the early 70s, the actor moved to the United States and was immediately cast in the lead role in the crime action film about sea pirates, When Eight Bells Toll. Then there was the role of Pierre Bezukhov in the television series “War and Peace,” for which he received a BAFTA award.

Hopkins also participated in such well-known projects as the dramas “A Doll’s House” and “Dawn”, “The Good Father” and “The Elephant Man”, the thrillers “Someone else’s Daughter” and “Desperate Hours”, the mystical film “Magic” and the melodrama “Chering” 84 Cross Road." Anthony Hopkins twice received an Emmy Award for his work in the biographical films The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case and The Bunker.

Real success and world fame came to the actor in the early 90s, when he played the cannibalistic maniac Hannibal Lecter in the acclaimed thriller The Silence of the Lambs. For their participation in this film, Hopkins and his partner Jodie Foster received the most coveted acting award - an Oscar statuette for best leading actor.

Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter (still from the film "The Silence of the Lambs")

Anthony will be nominated for an Oscar three more times for his roles in the melodrama “The Remains of the Day” about a narcissistic and endlessly loyal butler, the film adaptation of the biography of American President Richard Nixon, and Steven Spielberg’s historical film about the times of the slave trade “Amistad”. Another 2 awards were brought by the main role in the biopic “Shadowland”, dedicated to the writer Clive Staples Lewis, author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”.

The actor's subsequent filmography is no less impressive. Hopkins took Anton Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya" as the basis for his directorial project "August", but moved the action to Wales. Significant ones are the horror film "Bram Stoker's Dracula", the drama "Legends of the Fall", the thriller "On the Edge" with Alec Baldwin and Elle Macpherson as co-stars. At the same time, the main place in the film was given to the trained bear Bart.

In 1998, Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt played the main roles in the mystical drama about life and death, Meet Joe Black, and Death in the allegorical film came in person in the guise of a young man.

Anthony Hopkins and Brad Pitt (still from the movie "Meet Joe Black")

The audience remembers the adventure film “The Mask of Zorro” and the thriller “Hearts in Atlantis”, the horror film “The Wolf Man” and the drama “Shadowland”, the biography film “Hitchcock”, the melodrama “Tarnished Reputation” and the dramatic thriller “Instinct”.

After the incredibly popular film “The Silence of the Lambs”, 2 sequels were released – “Hannibal” in 2001, and “Red Dragon” a year later. In 2007, fans saw Hopkins in the leading role in the crime drama Fracture, where he appeared in the usual role of a creepy criminal.

In 2011, Anthony Hopkins played a priest in the thriller “The Rite” about church courses to exorcise the devil from people. He soon became interested in the world of Marvel comics and agreed to star in the fantasy action film Thor, where he appeared as the Scandinavian god Odin and the father of the main character. The actor played the same character in the sequel “Thor 2: The Dark World” and “Thor: Ragnarok.”

Anthony Hopkins as Odin (still from the movie "Thor")

In 2014, Hopkins appeared in the lead role in the detective thriller “Psychics,” which tells the story of the confrontation between a maniac and a detective with paranormal abilities. The actor also acted as the film's producer.

Anthony Hopkins received not only awards for certain roles. He received special awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1995 and a Golden Globe Award in 2006 for his services to the arts. In 1993, Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain awarded the actor the title of Knight Bachelor, after which he should be called Sir Anthony Hopkins.

In 2020, fans learned about Hopkins' musical talent. The waltz “And the waltz goes on,” written by the actor half a century ago, was performed by the famous musician Andre Rieu. The video of the concert excited the Internet, and listeners positively assessed Hopkins' talent as a composer.

Andre Rieu — And the waltz goes on. Composer Anthony Hopkins

On February 5, 2020, the dramatic thriller “Worse Than a Lie” was released. The neo-noir film brought together the masters of American cinema Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino for the first time. The first played the owner of a pharmaceutical company, suspected of selling a low-quality drug that resulted in hundreds of casualties. The second introduced the head of a law firm that is trying to prove the businessman’s guilt.

In September 2016, the German-British film Autobahn premiered at the American Film Festival in Deauville. Anthony did not play the most successful role, according to critics, of a German drug dealer.

Anthony Hopkins (still from the series "Westworld")

In 2020, Anthony Hopkins played the lead role in the American science fiction series Westworld. The film became a multi-part adaptation of the film "Western World", directed by Michael Crichton in 1973.

The film is set in a futuristic amusement park in which androids imitate the life of townspeople in the Wild West of the 19th century. The robots are human-like, talk and move freely, but cannot harm visitors and obey the general rules of the park. Such conditions allow people to exhibit cruelty and immorality, which is condemned in society.

Anthony Hopkins played the role of the creator and creative director of the park. The main roles of androids were played by Evan Rachel Wood and Thandie Newton. The series quickly gained popularity among television viewers, and HBO announced a sequel.

Anthony Hopkins (still from the movie "Transformers: The Last Knight")

In 2020, Hopkins surprised fans of the fantastic action film of the popular franchise “Transformers: The Last Knight,” in which he played the main role of Sir Edmund Burton, a member of the alliance and a descendant of the keepers of the secret of Transformers on Earth. The actor himself commented on his participation in the film:

“Michael Bay is one of the first-class directors. Of course, I want to work with someone of that level. I find it ingenious to see the clarity with which he carries out his plans.”

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In 1965, the actor joined the Royal National Theatre, where at that time Laurence Olivier played, whom Hopkins occasionally replaced on stage. The actor left this theater in 1970.

In the film "When the Eight Bells Toll"

Since the seventies, Anthony Hopkins's creative biography has been connected with America, where he received his first leading role as Philip Calvert in the crime drama When the Eight Bells Toll.

Films starring Anthony Hopkins

Hopkins' role in the legendary "Silence of the Lambs" brought him worldwide fame. In this film, he became the cannibalistic maniac Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and after the premiere in 1992, he won his first and only Oscar to date.

Still from the film “The Silence of the Lambs”

The photo of the actor in the image of a maniac was circulated by the world's leading publications, but Anthony Hopkins' second wife Jennifer Linton had a different opinion on this matter. She didn’t like how her husband changed after his role in “The Silence of the Lambs,” and she left the actor.

The following year, by decree of Queen Elizabeth II, Hopkins was made a knight bachelor.

After the worldwide success of The Silence of the Lambs, leading directors of our time began to offer the actor leading roles in their films. In 1997, he starred in the thriller “On the Edge,” where Elle Macpherson and Alec Baldwin became his on-screen partners, but the main role in the film went to the trained bear Bart.

In the photo: Anthony Hopkins in the film "On the Edge"

A year later, the mystical drama “Meet Joe Black” was released, in which the actor played in a duet with Brad Pitt.

Hopkins had the opportunity to play Dr. Lecter twice more in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002).

In 2007, in the crime film "Fracture", the actor became a dangerous criminal Ted Crawford, and four years later in "The Rite" - a priest exorcizing evil spirits from his parishioners.

In "Rite"

In 2020, Anthony Hopkins' creative biography took an unexpected turn. In the middle of the last century, he wrote music for a waltz, which in the new century was performed by the famous musician Andre Rieu.

A year later, TV viewers could see their favorite in “Westworld.”

This fantasy series is about a futuristic amusement park with androids that look like the inhabitants of the Wild West. Hopkins got the role of the mad genius who created this strange place.

In the photo: a still from the film “Westworld”

In the summer of 2020, the next part of “Transformers” was released. In “The Last Knight,” the actor became Sir Edmund Burton, who does everything to save our planet.

In "Transformers"

In 2020, Anthony Hopkins' creative biography was associated with the famous Marvel studio. In Thor: Ragnarok, the actor became Odin again.

Personal life

For the first time, Anthony Hopkins married Norwegian film actress Petronella Barker in 1967, with whom he lived for 5 years. A year after their wedding, their daughter Abigail was born. Almost immediately after the divorce, the actor married his secretary Jennifer Linton for the second time. In 1995, the couple separated for a year, then they resumed their relationship, but after 3 years they separated completely. Although the official divorce was filed only in 2002.

After breaking up with Jennifer, Hopkins met Joyce Ingalls in the Alcoholics Anonymous club, whom he dated for about 2 years. His personal life with singer Francine Kaye did not work out due to Anthony’s fear of taking on obligations. TV star Martha Stewart left on her own when she realized that she was unable to get rid of the film image and saw in front of her not the man she loved, but the cannibal Lecter.

Embed from Getty Images Anthony Hopkins and his wife Stella Arroyave

In 2003, Hopkins married Colombian actress Stella Arroyave, his co-star in the arthouse drama The Vortex, which became the actor's final directorial experience. Anthony does not intend to make any more films, if only because he does not want to be the first to arrive on the set and solve many other issues, including finding money and final editing. The actor and his wife live in California, in their own villa in Malibu and, judging by the photos occasionally published on the Internet, they are quite happy. There are no children in this marriage.

But she is his copy! The story of why Anthony Hopkins doesn't communicate with his daughter

If you've never heard of this name, no wonder: the daughter has not communicated with her father for many years. And, unfortunately, now there is no reason to think that they will suddenly make peace. There was a period of temporary truce in their life, when Abigail even played with her father in the same film, but then the relationship deteriorated again.

Offense against dad

Abigail's mother Petronella Barker was married to the actor from 1966 to 1972. In 1969, a daughter was born.

In 1973, Anthony married Jennifer Linton and lived with her for 29 years.

Abigail rarely saw her father: “I saw him maybe once a year. It was sad, but I tried not to think about it.” True, it turned out badly: 16-17 years old was a terrible time, I constantly suffered due to the fact that we had almost no contact. I was angry and sad."

Temporary reconciliation

In the early 90s, Hopkins managed to improve his relationship with his daughter; she even starred in small roles in two films. Not one of them talks about why everything went wrong again. “It seems to me that relationships should be improved from both sides,” Abigail said in an interview with The Telegraph. “I don’t know if it was possible to do everything right.”

But my father doesn’t care!

The 82-year-old actor does not seem to be particularly worried about his relationship with his only child. In an interview with Radio Times in 2020, he noted that he did not know whether he had grandchildren or where his daughter even lived: “I don’t know anything about her life. People break up, it happens. Families are breaking up, you need to live your own life. People make choices." When told that he responded too coldly, Anthony replied: “Yes, it is cold. But life in general is a cold thing.”

He could not clearly explain why he rarely saw his daughter as a child, but admitted back in 2002: “I’m probably too selfish. I was not a good husband or father."

One possible reason is that he struggled with alcohol addiction for many years: “I still don’t believe that my life turned out this way. I should have died drunk in Wales or something.” This period occurred in the 70s, and his problems became one of the reasons for his divorce from his mother Abigail.

In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles, and his first wife and daughter remained in England.

Abigail is doing well

Anthony Hopkins' daughter became a jazz singer. “I was lonely as a child,” she said. “I felt good in my own company.” Music meant a lot to me. I played the piano, but it was not my favorite instrument. My father intended to become a concert pianist and then became an actor. When I was seven, I brought a guitar to school and everything changed.”

Abigail managed to make a name for herself without the help of her famous father: “I decided to do everything on my own... I had to prove to myself that I was worth something. I go through life following my intuition, and it helps me get through tough times.”

Despite her difficult relationship with her father, Abigail was able to live without him.

Photo: Getty images, Rex features/Fotodom

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Anthony Hopkins now

Acting is not a passion for Anthony Hopkins, and he does not believe his colleagues who claim that they would sacrifice everything for a new role. Now the profession is enjoyable and also well paid. But that doesn't mean Hopkins is automatic. First of all, he carefully studies the script, and whether it is good or bad is clear from the first 5 pages.

Anthony Hopkins (still from the film "Elyse")

For these reasons, or for understandable family reasons, the actor starred in the drama “Elyse,” which is expected to be released by the end of 2020. The director and scriptwriter for the first time was the wife of the leading actor, Stella. Arroyave's daughter Tara is working on the film as a producer.

The Netflix online service is preparing to release a film called “The Pope,” dedicated to the relationship between two pontiffs of the Roman Catholic Church - Benedict 16, the first pope to voluntarily abdicate, and his follower Francis. The role of the latter went to Game of Thrones star Jonathan Pryce. According to media reports, Hopkins, in an impressive portrayal of Benedict, was spotted on the streets of New York during the filming of one of the scenes.

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Anthony Hopkins in 2020,
Francis, by the way, blessed Russell Crowe for the role of the biblical hero Noah in the film of the same name by Darren Aronofsky. Anthony embodied on the screen the image of the grandfather of the main character Methuselah, a man who lived, as the Bible says, the longest life.

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Filmography

• 1968 — “Lion in Winter”
• 1976 — “The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case”
• 1980 — “The Elephant Man”
• 1985 — “The Good Father”
• 1988 — “Dawn”
• 1991 — “The Silence of the Lambs”
• 1993 — “The Remains of the Day”
• 1994 — “Legends of Autumn”
• 1998 — “The Mask of Zorro”
• 2000 — “Mission: Impossible 2”
• 2001 — “Hannibal”
• 2004 — “Alexander”
• 2007 — “Beowulf”
• 2011 — “Thor”
• 2016 — “Westworld”
• 2017 — “Transformers: The Last Knight”
• 2019 — “Elyse”