ACTOR · BORN 1937
Anthony Hopkins
- Born
- 31 December 1937, Margam, Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, UK
- Known for
- The Elephant Man (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Alexander (2004)
54 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is an actor best known for The Elephant Man, The Silence of the Lambs and Transformers: The Last Knight.
Anthony Hopkins over the years
54 Interesting Facts About Anthony Hopkins
Interesting Facts (8)
- #001
He has twice played a character who loses a hand by having it severed with a meat cleaver: in Titus (1999) and Hannibal (2001).
- #002
He and fellow actor Anthony Perkins are separated by just three letters in their names. They were also both born in the 1930s and are frequently noted for their killer roles (Hopkins in the Hannibal Lecter films, Perkins in the Psycho films). Oddly, Hopkins played the title role in Hitchcock (2012), which was about the making of Psycho (1960), in which the late Perkins was portrayed by actor James D'Arcy.
- #003
He 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.
- #004
Although he played Nicol Williamson's uncle in Hamlet (1969), he was fourteen months his junior.
- #005
Hopkins played Pope Benedict XVI in the acclaimed film The Two Popes (2019). The Pope passed away on December 31, which marks Hopkins' 85th birthday.
- #006
His favourite films of his own are The Remains of the Day (1993), Shadowlands (1993), Nixon (1995), The Bounty (1984) and All the King's Men (2006).
- #007
Has twice played a character who loses a hand by having it severed with a meat cleaver: in Titus (1999) and Hannibal (2001).
- #008
Has the distinction of twice playing former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George in Young Winston (1972) and The Edwardians (1972).
Production Story (7)
- #009
In 1964 Hopkins composed a waltz named "And The Waltz Goes On", but he kept it in a drawer for many years until his wife contacted Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu in 2010. Rieu arranged the piece and it premiered in Vienna in 2011 in the presence of Anthony Hopkins. Rieu included the waltz in his playlist for his next tour and produced a CD named after the waltz.
- #010
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.
- #011
He has been much sought after for the James Bond franchise. First, he was in talks to play a villain in Timothy Dalton's unmade third film. Then he was the first choice for the villains in both Goldeneye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). He was later rumored for Albert Finney's role in Skyfall (2012).
- #012
In the 1991 restoration of Spartacus (1960), scenes that had been cut from the film's 1967 reissue were reintroduced. One such segment features Laurence Olivier, in the role of Marcus Crassus, attempting to seduce the slave Antoninus (played by Tony Curtis). However, the original soundtrack for this segment had been lost. Since Olivier had died in 1989, Anthony Hopkins imitated Olivier's voice (Hopkins had understudied him at the Old Vic) for the scene's re-created soundtrack. The surviving Tony Curtis presumably supplied his own voice.
- #013
He 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.
- #014
Richard Attenborough offered him the lead role in Gandhi (1982). When Hopkins called his father to tell him, his father responded: "Oh, it's a comedy then, is it!?"
- #015
Turned down the role of Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins (2005).
Behind the Scenes (8)
- #016
He 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.
- #017
He dubbed Laurence Olivier's voice in the 1991 reissue of Spartacus (1960).
- #018
During the filming of Surviving Picasso (1996), in which he played Picasso, he ate the same menu as Pablo Picasso.
- #019
He admitted that he felt very intimidated by the real Lt. Col. John Frost, whom he played in the movie A Bridge Too Far (1977), when Frost visited the set one day to see how things were going.
- #020
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.
- #021
He often accompanied his father, who always whistled while on his bakery rounds, and he incorporated that into his character in The World's Fastest Indian (2005).
- #022
- #023
During 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.
Characters & Cast (1)
- #024
He 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 is likely that he played Nixon's namesake.
Career & Awards (15)
- #025
He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 1993 New Year Honours List for his services to drama.
- #026
The Anthony Hopkins Theatre at Theatre Clwyd Cymru in Mold, North Wales, UK, is named in his honor.
- #027
In a 2016 interview for The Wrap, Hopkins said it was a mistake to star in the 'The Silence of the Lambs' sequels Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002), and that he will never play Hannibal Lecter again. In the same interview, Hopkins called The Silence of the Lambs (1991) "okay" and "a good film".
- #028
In October 1997, he was ranked #57 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.
- #029
On July 16, 1988, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Wales.
- #030
He was appointed a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to drama.
- #031
He has two Shakespearean roles in common with Laurence Olivier in filmed performances: Olivier played Othello in Othello (1965) while Hopkins played him in Othello (1981), and Olivier played King Lear in King Lear (1983) while Hopkins played him in King Lear (2018). Hopkins also dubbed Olivier's voice in the 1991 restored edition of Spartacus (1960) for a previously deleted scene whose sound had been lost over the years.
- #032
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 World's Fastest Indian (2005) at the time.
- #033
In the late 1970s, he set up his own company, the South Coast Repertory Company, designed to perform in American high schools and universities.
- #034
When he auditioned to join the National Theatre in front of its artistic director, Sir Laurence Olivier, he chose a speech from Othello, a part Olivier was then playing to great acclaim in London. When Olivier asked him what he was going to audition with and Hopkins told him, Olivier replied: "You've got a bloody nerve, haven't you!"
- #035
He appeared in five films directed by Richard Attenborough: Young Winston (1972), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Magic (1978), Chaplin (1992) and Shadowlands (1993).
- #036
He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, where he spent three seasons after graduating from RADA.
- #037
Reads each script 250 times out loud before filming, and to exercise his memory, memorizes one new poem a week.
- #038
Won a Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play for "Equus" (1975).
- #039
Was set to play Jor-El in Superman Returns (2006), but when director Brett Ratner left the project, so did Hopkins.
Life & Family (15)
- #040
An accomplished painter, he has allowed some of his landscape paintings to be exhibited in San Antonio, Texas.
- #041
He is the only child of a couple who ran a bakery.
- #042
As a child, he was very close to his maternal grandfather, who for some reason called him "George", while his father called him "Charlie".
- #043
His father was a Welsh baker.
- #044
He received his Academy Award for The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 11 years to the day of his father's death.
- #045
He became an American citizen in 1999.
- #046
He resides in Santa Monica, California.
- #047
He is on the autistic spectrum and stimulates his senses by rubbing his hands together.
- #048
Though dyslexic, he has always possessed a great memory for scripts.
- #049
In 1975, he conquered his alcoholic addiction.
- #050
His father was a baker.
- #051
He lost his $6 million Pacific Palisades home to the catastrophic Los Angeles wildfires.
- #052
He dropped out of school at 17.
- #053
As a child, young Anthony took part in many parties and local performances where he got noticed for his mime talents.
- #054
He pledged $1.6 million to help preserve 4,000 acres of Mt. Snowdon, Wales' highest peak.
Related pages
- Katharine Hepburn — Anthony Hopkins comes up in the facts on that page
- Liam Neeson — Anthony Hopkins comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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