'How's the climate where you are?' inquires Anthony Hopkins as our video call begins. Although he has resided in the Golden State for many years, elements of his Welsh background remain evident in his distinctive, mellifluous voice - perhaps a little hoarser than it once was. It's a dark evening in London but a bright, sunny morning in LA, and Hopkins appears just as radiant in demeanour and clothing, sporting a turquoise and green shirt. 'I came here 50 years ago. Somebody said: 'Are you {selling out|compromising your values?' I responded: 'No, I just enjoy the weather and {to get a suntan|want some sunshine.' But I like Los Angeles. I've had a wonderful life here.'
Recent Challenges and Property Destruction
It hasn't been completely wonderful recently, in truth. In early this year, Hopkins' house in the coastal neighborhood was destroyed by wildfires. 'It was quite a disaster,' he says, with almost cheerful understatement. 'We're grateful that no one was hurt, and we rescued our pets and our little family {into the clear|to safety.' He wasn't there at the moment; he and his spouse were in Saudi Arabia, where he was presenting a musical performance of his personal compositions played by the prestigious musical ensemble. They're now in a rented house in the nearby neighborhood of the upscale community. 'We lost all our possessions, but you reflect: 'Oh well, {at least we are alive|we still have our lives.' I feel sorry for the many individuals who have been severely impacted. Individuals who had reached way past the age to stop working, and had labored diligently over the years and now … {nothing|have nothing left.'
Ongoing Work and Current Endeavors
Hopkins will be eighty-eight this winter, but clearly doesn't view himself as ready to retire. As a double Academy Award recipient, a knight of the realm, a fixture of pop culture and one of the most revered actors living today, he has an embarrassment of laurels to be satisfied with, but there's still many projects planned. He's just completed a movie with the British director, for whom he has a newfound admiration - 'He's exacting in what he {wants to see|expects to achieve' - and he's coming back to Britain shortly, he says, to produce a fresh film with Richard Eyre, then another one in his homeland.
Early Life and Personal Struggles
However lately Hopkins has also been looking back, too - at his entire existence. His new memoir is far from your stereotypical luvvie memoir, partly because he is not at all your typical luvvie - even if he does encounter past greats such as Laurence Olivier, Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn and the Welsh star - but primarily because he's remarkably honest about his difficult younger years. When he describes his childhood in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, the only son of a baking business family, it seems like a completely different world. 'My father had that attitude: quit complaining, cease whining, you don't know what you're talking about, maintain good posture, {get on with it|move forward!' His father was also susceptible to depression and worry, the actor explains. It was wartime and postwar Britain; that's simply how things were.
Youthful Difficulties
According to his recollection, the youthful Anthony comes across as a bit of a loner and an oddball. He had limited companions, was frequently bullied and refused to attend his own birthday parties. He displayed so little promise at school, one teacher told him he was 'completely hopeless. 'I was living in my imagination, my dream world, I guess,' he states. 'I couldn't comprehend anything mentally or academically and that drove me into a form of isolation and {resentment|bitterness.' He retreated behind a mask of insolence, 'a tough stance and a cold remoteness', and that formed his character. Maybe, in a sense, he was already acting?
Professional Journey and Key Opportunities
An early epiphany in terms of performance was watching Olivier's film adaptation of Hamlet at his educational institution in the late forties, when he was twelve. 'I was shocked by my response,' he says. 'I don't know what it was about that, but it made such a punch in my mind, hearing the Bard's work for the {first time|initial occasion.' He started learning lines from the Danish prince and the Roman leader. His parents were amazed. (Decades later, his parent, on his deathbed, asked Hopkins to perform the famous soliloquy for him.)
Recall and Method
Hopkins' memory is the cornerstone of his acting, he explains. He reads his scripts 100 or 200 times, so each word is permanently memorized before he turns up on set. It started as a protection mechanism when he was a young actor, but it's become his technique. 'That was my gift, truly: to know the part so thoroughly that I had no fear. Once you know the script, you have a relaxation to go on stage in practice, so you can truly listen to the fellow actor. The art of acting, I believe, is to be capable of hearing.'
Battle with Drinking
One area where he did discover similarity - far too much of it - was drinking. 'Alcohol consumption represented a family tradition,' he says. It was a performance world custom, too. This was the period of 'rebellious youth' exemplified by the playwright's Look Back in Anger (Hopkins had been riveted seeing the actor's interpretation in the fifties), and of legendary, hard-drinking 'troublemakers' like the Irish actor, Oliver Reed, Richard Burton and the celebrated actor. Did he fit that description?
'Absolutely, I did. I would not be trusted, and I would have fights and quarrel with, especially, filmmakers. Looking back, it's completely irrational. They were trying to do their job; I was trying to do mine, but I couldn't take any … it wasn't criticism, I couldn't tolerate any dominant behavior. So I'd {lash out|react violently.' He would frequently engage in physical altercations in bars, too.
Life-Changing Moment
The definitive moment of clarity occurred in December 1975, in Los Angeles. He woke up one day to find his car gone, and called his agent to tell him. 'Nobody stole it,' his agent replied. 'We found you on the road.' The actor had driven all night from Arizona to Beverly Hills, about a significant distance, completely intoxicated. 'I was insane, I was crazy, I couldn't remember half the journey,' he admits. 'And that's a deadly way to live, because I didn't care about myself. I could have taken out an whole household … I knew I needed help, I {knew it was over|understood it had to end.'
The way he narrates it, a distinct inner voice in his head inquired if he desired to survive or perish. He answered: 'I want to live,' and the voice said, 'This chapter has ended. You can start living.' He went straight to the recovery program. Following this, 'I emerged on the street, late morning, 29 December 1975, and the world appeared transformed. Everything seemed sunnier, everything seemed more … benign. No threat in the air.'
Career Highlights and Memorable Characters
At this point Hopkins was living and working increasingly in the US, and in cinema. 'I just wanted some warmth, and I didn't want to be waiting about in uncomfortable costumes holding a spear for the remainder of my career,' he quips. It was his hero the legendary actor who had initially persuaded him on to a movie set, in the late sixties. He knocked on Hopkins' dressing room at the prestigious theater one afternoon and said, 'I'd like you to perform a screen test for me,' the younger actor says. 'He'd had a few jars, and we went to the pub afterwards.'
Hannibal Lecter
Such was the societal impact of The Silence of the Lambs that on Oscars night {1992
