Sir Anthony Hopkins is admired for his ingenious portrayal of important figures such as Pablo Picasso, Alfred Hitchcock, Pope Benedict and Richard Nixon and feared for his ice-cold portrait of the psychopathic killer Hannibal Lecter. It’s surprising how relaxed and funny the two-time Oscar winner, who turns 85 on New Year’s Eve, comes across on social media.
Hopkins posts hot dance videos on Instagram, still demonstrating flexible hip swings, salsa steps or rap moves. In mid-December, Hopkins showed himself to his almost four million followers on the grand piano with a sample of his own classical composition, which he also played in “The Two Popes”. “With love… it’s Sunday and I’m feeling good,” he captioned the video. In his accounts, Hopkins introduces himself as an “artist, painter, composer, actor in film, stage and television.” “Age doesn’t define me. At 84 I’m still thinking outside the box,” the star wrote in July. His philosophy: tackle things, but without fear, because you have nothing to lose.
The acting legend has fought hard for this self-confidence. The son of a family of bakers in Wales, he has long been plagued by insecurity. At school he was considered a loner with his fondness for painting and playing the piano.
In 1961 he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In the theater he was able to gain a reputation as a versatile character actor – he was on stage alone as “King Lear” many times.
But he was also considered difficult and unpredictable, and he often tangled with directors. Two broken marriages, escape to alcohol – in interviews he spoke openly about past life dramas.
A killer role made him world famous
Hopkins, who has commuted between his homeland and California since the 1970s, has made over a hundred film and television appearances in his long career. A killer role made him world famous. He can only be seen on screen for 16 minutes in the psychological thriller “The Silence of the Lambs”, but that was enough. The duel between the psychopathic Hannibal Lecter and the steadfast FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) wrote film history. Hopkins won the Oscar for best actor in 1992 with the horror role.
The range of the Briton is enormous: For him, the role of the dutiful butler in the drama “What Was Left of the Day” (1993) was one of his most important films. Oliver Stone got him in front of the camera in 1995 as US President Richard Nixon. With a bushy gray beard, Hopkins transformed himself into Odin, father of the gods, in “Thor” (2011). In Hitchcock (2012) he took on the form of fellow legendary Alfred Hitchcock.
In the Netflix production The Two Popes (2019), Hopkins as Pope Benedict XVI. and Jonathan Pryce as the future Pope Francis. A year later, Hopkins shone in the dementia drama “The Father” as a proud, stubborn man who visibly succumbed to his dementia. With the sensitive portrait directed by Florian Zeller, Hopkins won his second Oscar for best actor in 2021.
The Briton, who has been married to Colombian-born Stella Arroyave for the third time since 2003, is apparently not thinking about the end of his career. With the dramas “Armageddon Time” and “The Son” he was seen in two films this year in supporting roles.
“I’m just grateful that I’m alive and that they’re still giving me jobs,” Hopkins said in an interview in November. “Keeps me out of trouble doesn’t it?” the star quipped.