Philip Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, near Port Talbot, Wales, UK, to Richard Arthur Hopkins and Muriel Yeats, who is distantly alerted to the great English poet, William Butler Yeats. As a child he was quiet, slow to learn and very close to his maternal grandfather, who for some reason, called him “George.” To compound the confusion, his father, for whatever reasons he had, called him “Charlie.”
He was influenced and encouraged to become and actor by fellow Welshman, Richard Burton, whom he met briefly when he was fifteen years of age. As a young man, George, Charlie and/or Anthony joined the National Theater and studied under Sir Laurence Olivier. He also graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. For most of his early adulthood, he battled an addiction to alcohol, which he conquered in 1975.
Although he often plays very proper and restrained British gentlemen such as in “The Remains Of The Day” (1993) and “Shadowlands” (1993), he won two Emmy Awards as Bruno Hauptmann in “The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case” (TV 1976), and as Adolph Hitler in “The Bunker” (1981). He also won an Academy Award as Hannibal Lecter in the suspenseful thriller, “The Silence of The Lambs” (1991).
Known for wearing his hair slicked back, Anthony Hopkins is an actor’s actor, well versed in the art of improvisation. This is no more clearly exemplified than the slurping sound he makes in “Silence of The Lambs” after describing eating a poor “census taker” who had the misfortune to cross his murderous path.
In 1999, Anthony Hopkins was selected by an “Entertainment Weekly” on-line poll as the “Best Modern Actor” and the “Best Villain” for his portrayal of cannibal, Hannibal Lecter. In 2000, he became a US citizen, but is allowed to retain his British knighthood and the title of Sir.
What are some of YOUR favorite Anthony Hopkins performances?