Anthony Hopkins

Biography

Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents were both of half-Welsh and half-English descent. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at the College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957.

 In 1965, he moved to London and joined the National Theatre, invited by Laurence Olivier, who could see the talent in Hopkins. In 1967, he made his first film for television, A Flea in Her Ear (1967).

From this moment on, he enjoyed a successful career in cinema and television. In 1968, he worked on The Lion in Winter (1968) with Timothy Dalton. Many successes came later, and Hopkins' remarkable acting style reached the four corners of the world. 

In 1977, he appeared in two major films: A Bridge Too Far (1977) with James Caan, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould and Laurence Olivier, and Maximilian Schell. In 1980, he worked on The Elephant Man (1980). 

Two good television literature adaptations followed: Othello (1981) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982). In 1987 he was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This year was also important in his cinematic life, with 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), acclaimed by specialists. In 1993, he was knighted.

In the 1990s, Hopkins acted in movies like Desperate Hours (1990) and Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993) (nominee for the Oscar), Legends of the Fall (1994), Nixon (1995) (nominee for the Oscar), Surviving Picasso (1996), Amistad (1997) (nominee for the Oscar), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Meet Joe Black (1998) and Instinct (1999). His most remarkable film, however, was The Silence of the Lambs (1991), for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He also got a B.A.F.T.A. for this role.

Is proud of his improvisational touches as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) such as: the unnerving effect on Jodie Foster when he mocked her character's West Virginia accent; the distortion of the word "chianti" and the vile slurping sound he makes after he describes eating the "census-taker." Hopkins also notes that Hannibal never blinked his eyes when he spoke.

Reads each script 250 times out loud before filming, and to exercise his memory, memorizes one new poem a week.

Though dyslexic, he's always possessed a great memory for scripts.

During the filming of Amistad (1997), he astounded the cast and crew by memorizing a seven-page speech in one go. Steven Spielberg was so impressed that he insisted on calling him "Sir Anthony" throughout the shoot rather than Tony.

1975: Conquered his alcoholic addiction.

Had a brush with death while shooting The Edge (1997) in Alberta, Canada. He fell in a river, and was rushed to hospital to be treated for hypothermia.

His early ambition was to be a concert pianist.

Volunteers at the Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica, California, where he teaches everything from Shakespeare to scenes, theory, and monologues.

He included some unusual touches for Hannibal Lecter during his preparation for the role, among which were making Lecter's voice similar to the cutting warble of Katharine Hepburn and almost never blinking, a characteristic he picked up from watching tapes of convicted murderer Charles Manson.

Served in the British Army's Royal Artillery regiment, as part of his 'National Service', where all young men aged 18-21 had to. join the armed forces for two years, after WW2, and was known as "Gunner Hopkins".

4/12/00: Became a U.S. citizen, but is allowed to retain his British knighthood and the title of Sir.

Piano virtuoso.