Anthony Hopkins is a brilliant actor, director, one of the best representatives of the film industry, winner of an Oscar and other awards.

Biography of Anthony Hopkins

The actor was born on December 31, 1937 in Port Talbot (Wales) in the UK.

In one of the interviews, he mentioned that in the early years, few people believed that something suitable would grow from a guy, all the more, a world-class star. For example, the ego’s father, Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker by profession, repeatedly pointed out to young Anthony the ego’s hopelessness and inability to deal with serious things. Parents sent the guy to a private school, but he did not express much interest in general education subjects.

Regarding his performance at school, the actor once said:

“The best of us develop late. At school I was an idiot.”

What really fascinated him from childhood was art. The boy became interested in playing the piano, to which his father, far from high ideas of beauty, reacted skeptically. Upon graduation, Anthony entered the College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, where he gave free rein to his talents. The acting sphere significantly captivated the guy, who finally decided to connect his life with this field. From 1963 to 1966 he studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. And already in 1968 he made his film debut in the film The Lion in Winter. In parallel, he played in the theater and appeared on television.

The seventies – the period of formation of Hopkins as an actor. Although at that time the emu mostly got supporting roles, he performed them with high quality and in his own characteristic manner, which was duly appreciated by film critics. For example, in 1973 he was recognized as the “actor of the year” for the role of Pierre Bezukhov in the series “War and Peace”. It is noteworthy that the appearance and behavior of the actor – a calm, insightful look, non-fussiness – were perfect for a character in a film of any genre, from an action-packed detective story to a romantic melodrama.

There were in the life of the actor and not entirely successful periods. In the early eighties, he had the imprudence to become addicted to alcohol, even was a member of the Alcoholics Anonymous club. Fortunately, the emu managed to overcome this bad habit.

In 1987, the actor was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1993 he became a titled knight bachelor. Since then he has been called Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The actor is very responsible and scrupulous in studying the character he will play. For example, while preparing for the filming of The Silence of the Lambs (1992), Hopkins studied the real case of a homicidal maniac in order to better get used to his image. While filming the crime thriller On the Edge (2012), Hopkins almost died while filming one of the episodes. He fell into a river with ice water, after which he needed urgent hospitalization due to hypothermia.

The world became aware of Hopkins’ musical abilities in 2015, when the waltz “And the waltz goes on” written by him was first performed.

Filmography of Anthony Hopkins. Top Movies

This truly genius cinematographer has starred in a variety of films of various genres (from psychological thriller to biographical drama). We would like to highlight the particularly noteworthy paintings that have made Hopkins famous throughout the world.

So, heading the list, of course, is the greatest creation of cinema art – the psychological thriller “Silence of the Lambs” (1991), recommended to absolutely everyone for viewing. Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris. The actor unsurpassedly played Dr. Hannibal Lecter (cannibal and former psychiatrist concurrently). Hopkins managed to get used to the role and prove himself so much that for the total appearance in the frame of only about 24 minutes, the American Film Academy awarded him an Oscar for Best Actor. The virtuosity of the ego of the game lies, in particular, in the fact that the main character (immoral and cruel by nature) causes disgust and admiration for the viewer at the same time.

By the way, The Silence of the Lambs is the third film in the history of cinematography to be awarded Oscars in the five most prestigious nominations (after It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). The Hannibal Lecter trilogy is complemented by the films Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). Thriller lovers, tension in the film and thrills, will certainly appreciate these pictures.

Of the films for which the actor was nominated for an Oscar, it is also worth mentioning The Rest of the Day (1994), based on the work of Kazuo Ishiguro (Nobel Prize winner in literature). This love drama tells about the relationship between employees in a British estate butler James Stevens (played by Hopkins) and housekeeper Sarah Kenton, played by Emma Thompson. We will not praise this work for a long time – eight Oscar nominations speak for themselves.

Another notable film that occupies far from the last place in the arsenal of this actor is Steven Spielberg’s Amistad (1997), where Anthony Hopkins played a supporting role, for which he was also nominated by the American Film Academy. The historical drama deals with the painful topic of slavery, namely the struggle for its abolition in America in the middle of the 19th century.

It is also worth noting the black-and-white film directed by David Lynch, The Elephant Man (1980), which tells about a talented surgeon, played by the actor, and his relationship with an ugly and at the same time amazing man suffering from incurable disease.

For lovers of mysticism, we recommend the film Meet Joe Black (1988). In this mystical drama, revealing the eternal theme of life and death, Hopkins starred with Brad Pitt.

The biopics Chaplin (1992), where the actor played George Hayden, and Nixon (1995), in which Hopkins unsurpassedly turned into US President Richard Nixon, or Hitchcock (here Anthony Hopkins masterfully played the role of an unsurpassed film director), are also used huge popularity.

In the dramatic thriller detective Fracture (2007), where Hopkins starred with Ryan Gosling, the actor played the role of a defendant who killed his wife, but escaped punishment due to the presumption of innocence.

The picture was very well received by the public, high ratings on many Internet resources confirm this.

In general, Anthony Hopkins is a multiple laureate and owner of the most prestigious awards in the film industry: Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy, Golden Globe, US Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2003, the Hollywood Walk of Fame shone with another star with the name of this most talented person. In 2008, the actor joined the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In addition, Hopkins proved to be quite successful in the director’s field. He supervised the process of filming the films “August” and “Whirlwind”.

Who voices Anthony Hopkins?

In the Russian voice acting, Vladimir Eremin speaks in the voice of his characters. It can be heard in the films “Hannibal”, “Proof”, “Beowulf” and others.

Actor’s personal life

Anthony is reluctant to talk about his personal life. He was married three times. From the first wife, with whom he lived in an officially registered marriage (from 1966 to 1972), he had a daughter, Abigail. The second marriage was much longer (more than twenty years), but also ended in divorce, in particular, because of the actor’s addiction to alcohol. With his third wife, Stella Arroyave, a Colombian by nationality, Anthony Hopkins married in 2004 and lives with her to this day.

Anthony Hopkins now

The Hollywood star lives with his third wife in England, where they moved from Los Angeles. Continues to act in films (from recent works: the role of Edmund Burton in the fantastic action movie “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017). In his free time, Hopkins devotes his favorite hobby – playing the piano.

The actor is already in his eighties, but his peppy appearance and active lifestyle almost do not betray such an advanced age.

Source of personal photos: Facebook actor Anthony Hopkins.