Biography for
Anthony Hopkins More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

31 December 1937, Margam, Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Birth Name

Philip Anthony Hopkins

Nickname

Tony

Height

5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Mini Biography

Anthony Hopkins was born on 31 December 1937, in Margam, Wales. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at 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) (TV).

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) (TV) and "Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (#31.2)" (1982). In 1987 he was awarded with 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 made 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 BAFTA for this role.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Emerenciano

Spouse

Stella Arroyave	(1 March 2003 - present)
Jennifer Lynton	(13 January 1973 - 30 April 2002) (divorced)
Petronella Barker	(September 1967 - 1972) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Hair greased back.

Often plays very proper and restrained British characters, as in The Remains of the Day (1993) and Shadowlands (1993).

Often plays controversial, real life characters: William Bligh in The Bounty (1984), Adolf Hitler in The Bunker (1981) (TV), Richard Bruno Hauptman in The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976) (TV), and Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995)

Deep smooth voice

Trivia

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 distorion 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.

10/97: Ranked #57 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

Often compared with fellow Welshman Richard Burton.

1987: Awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

7/16/88: Received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Wales.

1993: Knighted in the New Year Honors List.

1975: Conquered his alcoholic addiction.

Piano virtuoso.

Father of Abigail Hopkins

Into the 1991 restoration of Spartacus (1960), scenes were reintroduced which had been cut from the picture's 1967 reissue. One such segment has Laurence Olivier, in the role of Marcus Crassus, attempting to seduce the slave Antoninus (played by Tony Curtis). But the original soundtrack for this segment had become lost. And so, Olivier having died in 1989, Anthony Hopkins imitated the voice of Olivier (whom Hopkins had understudied at the Old Vic) for the scene's re-created soundtrack. (The surviving Tony Curtis presumably supplied his own voice.)

Born at 9:15am-UT

One of his greatest pleasures in past years on his frequent visits to the USA was to get in a car and drive across the country, enjoying its immensity as well as his own anonymity.

9/99: Was selected by an Entertainment Weekly on-line movie poll as the Best Modern Actor and the Best Villain for his role as Hannibal Lecter.

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

Received his Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 11 years to the day of his father's death.

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

Has the distinction of portraying two U.S. Presidents: Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995), and John Quincy Adams in Amistad (1997). He received Oscar nominations for both performances.

1/01: He ranked second in the Orange Film Survey of the greatest British films actors.

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.

Admitted that he felt very intimidated by the real Lt. Col. John Frost, who he played in the movie A Bridge Too Far (1977) when Frost visited the set one day to see how things were going.

Served in the British National Service as a Royal Artillery man and for a while was only known as "Gunner Hopkins".

9/24/03: Received star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

For his stage performance in "Pravda", he was awarded the 1985 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Best Actor, and the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1986 (1985 season) for Outstanding Achievement.

He chose to play Prof. Van Helsing in Dracula (1992) because he was still riding the success of his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and wanted to pick a role as far removed from Lecter as possible.

His Oscar-winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was ranked #1 on the American Film Institute's Villains list in its compilation of the 100 Years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.

As a child, he was very close to his maternal grandfather, who for some reason called him "George", while his father called him "Charlie".

Is related to the poet William Butler Yeats on his mother's side of the family.

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.

Has played a (future) king of England (Richard Lionheart in The Lion in Winter (1968)) and two U.S. Presidents. Interestingly, President Richard Nixon and his brothers were all named after British kings, so it's likely that he played Nixon's namesake.

A Member of the RADA Council.

Has three roles in common with Brian Cox. Both of them have played Titus Andronicus. Hopkins appeared on stage as King Lear in 1986, the same year that Manhunter (1986), which starred Cox as Hannibal Lecter, was released. He was succeeded in the role of Lear by Cox in 1991, the same year that he succeeded Cox in the role of Hannibal Lecter.

Graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, England.

Is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Stratford Upon Avon, England, where he spent three seasons after graduating from RADA.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was suggested in the Worst Supporting Actor category for his performance in the film Alexander (2004), however, he failed to receive a nomination. Had he gotten the nomination, it would have been his first in 24 years. He was previously nominated for Worst Actor in the film A Change of Seasons (1980) at the very first Razzie Awards.

With a little over 16 minutes of screen time, his performance as Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), is the shortest ever to win a Best Actor Oscar.

Ranked #12 on Tropopkin's Top 25 Most Intriguing People [Issue #100]

Has the distinction of twice playing former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Young Winston (1972) and "The Edwardians" (1972).

In Invercargill, New Zealand, there is a drama school named after him--The Anthony Hopkins School of Dramatic Arts. He was present for its opening, as he was in Invercargill filming scenes for the The World's Fastest Indian (2005) at the time.

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

9/20/05: On "The Oprah Winfrey Show" (1986), he said that he is most proud of The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Remains of the Day (1993) and Proof (2005).

Likes to be called "Tony."

Ate the same menu as Pablo Picasso during the filming of Surviving Picasso (1996), in which he played Picasso.

An accomplished painter, he has allowed some of his landscape paintings to be exhibited in San Antonio, Texas.

2006: His performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is ranked #70 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.

His performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) is ranked #15 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Turned down the role of Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins (2005).

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

Was set to play Jor-El in Superman Returns (2006), but when director Brett Ratner left the project, so did Hopkins.

Has played two characters that lost a hand by having it severed: in Titus (1999) and Hannibal (2001).

Attended Cowbridge boys grammar school as a youth.

Quit smoking cigarettes using the Allen Carr method.

The Anthony Hopkins Theatre at the Theatre Clwyd Cymru in Mold, North Wales, UK was named in his honour.

He is the patron on The Drama Association of Wales,UK which offers a wide and varied range of services to Community Drama. Among others, members include amateur and professional theatre practitioners, educationalists and playwrights.

Appears in Nixon (1995) with Dan Hedaya, and The Good Father (1985) with Jim Broadbent. Hedaya later played Nixon in Dick (1999), and Broadbent played Nixon in Dirty Tricks (2000) (TV).

Parents: Muriel Anne Yeats (b.1913) and Richard Arthur Hopkins (died in 1981).

Has played a King of England (Richard I, the Lionheart), a Prime Minister of England (David Lloyd George), and two U.S. Presidents (John Quincy Adams and Richard Nixon).

Won a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play for "Equus" (1975).

Was considered for the role of Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997) until director Joel Schumacher decided that Mr. Freeze must be "big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier". The role went to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He's the only child of a couple who ran a bakery.

Daughter, Abigail Hopkins, is a longtime friend of actress Jennifer Blanc.

Ex-son-in-law of Eric Barker and Pearl Hackney.

Was offered the part of Colonel Colin Caine in Lifeforce (1985).

Resides in Santa Monica, California.

Was considered for the role of Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents (2000).

He and Frank Langella both received Oscar-nominations for playing Richard Nixon.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he served two years in the British Army before beginning his acting career.

Personal Quotes

[on Gary Oldman] He is just like I was at his age.

I was lousy in school. Real screwed-up. A moron. I was antisocial and didn't bother with the other kids. A really bad student. I didn't have any brains. I didn't know what I was doing there. That's why I became an actor.

[Interviewed on "Inside the Actors Studio" (1994)] I once asked a Jesuit priest what was the best short prayer he knew. He said, "Fuck it,' as in, "Fuck it; it's in God's hands."

The Welsh people have a talent for acting that one does not find in the English. The English lack heart.

[December 1998] To hell with this stupid show business, this ridiculous showbiz, this futile waste of life. I look back and see a desert wasteland. All those years spent in a fake environment. Everything was a fake.

[On becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000] America has been very generous to me, magnanimous really. I thought it would be good to give something back. It was a decision of the heart.

[on his days as an alcoholic, when he was drinking Mexican Spirit tequila] I was really sort of on a prolonged acid trip. I saw things and had peculiar quasi-religious experiences. I thought I was John The Baptist, and I would talk to the sea at Malibu and the sea would talk back to me. It was weird.

[On his most famous character, Dr. Hannibal Lecter] I think he might be a very interesting person to have lunch with, provided that YOU weren't the lunch.

One of the people I got to know years ago, which was a great privilege, was Laurence Olivier. He was like a laser - that was his power. And the only actor I've met since who had that same quality of laser-like determination is Russell Crowe. The first day I started working with him, I thought, "That guy's got it." The best way to describe Russell is, he's like a shark circling round. He was argumentative. He argued with the director all the time. I don't know Russell that well, but I admire him, and you know, whatever he's got to do really. I really like him because he's ballsy, he's got guts, he's macho and all the rest of it. He's going through his bad boy period, but he's basically a nice guy.

I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen.

Being a smoker is like being trapped in a complicated maze. It's as if Allen Carr has a plan of the maze. Instantly I was freed from my addiction.

Acting is still enjoyable, but there are no more challenges any more for me. No, none at all. I'm much more interested in painting and composing music these days. I've become what I always wanted to be, a jobbing actor. I'm just detached, I do my thing. I work hard at it, but I don't invest my life in it. As long as they pay me on time and I get a good script with a good director, I have fun. That's all.

[on former US President Bill Clinton] It seems to me that the country rather misses him. He has impressed me. He asked me if I wanted to accompany him on a trip to Brazil, and so off I went. I'd met the President before in Washington, a very nice guy. So we were at this dinner, talking after his gig, he gave this incredible speech and he said, "Would you like to come to Brazil with me next week?". Of course I said, "Yes". He's pretty exhausting to be with, because he's always wanting to play cards or golf.

Heroes, like Bogart (Humphrey Bogart). They deserve high definition.

I think the first British actor who really worked well in cinema was Albert Finney. He was a back-street Marlon Brando. He brought a great wittiness and power to the screen. The best actor we've had.

Salary

Red Dragon (2002)	$20,000,000
Hannibal (2001)	$15,000,000
Mission: Impossible II (2000)	$5,000,000

Where Are They Now

(December 2006) He is filming The City of Your Final Destination (2007) in Argentina, during December 2006 - January 2007.

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z