Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

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Biography

Sir Anthony Hopkins CBE (born 31.12.1937) is a Welsh actor best known for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs and the sequel, Hannibal.

Childhood: Anthony Hopkins was born in Port Talbot, Wales, to Muriel and Richard Hopkins. He struggled with dyslexia at school and instead used art and music as a form of escape. In 1949, he was forced to attend Jones' West Monmouth Boys School, in an attempt to ingrain some discipline into his life. He later attended Cowbridge Grammar School.

It was the actor Richard Burton that eventually encouraged Hopkins to get into acting. Anthony enrolled in the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. He graduated in 1957 and later moved to London to study at RADA.

Acting Career: Anthony Hopkins was spotted by Sir Laurence Olivier, in 1965 and was invited to join the Royal National Theatre, where he became Olivier's understudy. When Olivier fell ill during a production of The Dance of Death, Hopkins replaced him.

Hopkins soon tired of the repetitive nature of theatre work and longed to get some film work. In 1968, he landed his first film role, alongside Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole and Timothy Dalton in The Lion in Winter.

Anthony Hopkins' television debut came in 1967 when he appeared in the BBC production A Flea in Her Ear.

In the 1970s, Hopkins starred in a number of notable films, such as The Great Inimitable Mr. Dickens, in which he played Charles Dickens, A Bridge Too Far and War and Peace, in which he played Pierre Bezukhov.

In the 1980s, Hopkins continued this tradition of taking on the roles of well known literary or historical figures, such as Paul the Apostle in Peter and Paul. He also played Adolf Hitler in The Bunker, Othello in Othello, Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Frederick Treves in The Elephant Man.

The 1990s saw Anthony Hopkins star in some of his best-known films. Richard Attenborough directed Hopkins along with Debra Winger in Shadowlands in 1993. Hopkins stars as the author C.S. Lewis in the film. Hopkins' first performance as Hannibal Lecter was also unveiled in 1991 in The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins won the Best actor Oscar in 1992 for his performance. His co-star Jodie Foster also won Best Actress for her role as Clarice Starling. It was another 10 years, though until the character resurfaced in Hannibal, followed by 2002's Red Dragon. Also in 1991, Anthony Hopkins played the role of his former mentor, Sir Laurence Olivier, in the remake of Spartacus.

In 1992, Hopkins appeared in Bram Stoker's Dracula, as directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film also starred Winona Ryder and Gary Oldman. Hopkins also starred in 1995's Nixon and 1997's Amistad.

Personal Life: Anthony Hopkins was made a naturalised citizen of the United States of America in 2000, an event that he celebrated with a 3000-mile road trip across the States.

Anthony Hopkins' first marriage was to Petronella Barker, from 1967 to 1972. In 1973, he married Jennifer Lynton but the couple divorced in 2002. Hopkins is currently married to the Columbian Stella Arroyave. His daughter, Abigail (born 1968) is a product of his first marriage. Abigail is an actress and a singer.

Anthony Hopkins is a volunteer teacher at the Ruskin School of Acting, in Santa Monica, which is where he lives.

Hopkins is a recovered alcoholic. He has been sober since 1975.

Anthony Hopkins is a patron of the Tommy Cooper Society. In February 2008, he unveiled a statue of the comedian in Caerphilly, wearing Cooper's trademark fez.

Hopkins has also worked as a director of films, making his directorial debut in 1996, with August, an adaptation of Uncle Vanya. He has also written a screenplay, entitled Slipstream, which debuted at 2007's Sundance Film Festival.

A role in the sitcom Only Fools and Horses was once created for Anthony Hopkins but, due to a scheduling clash, Hopkins' friend Roy Marsden took the role.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Anthony Hopkins Reveals Impact Of Alcoholism Battle


Anthony Hopkins

Sir Anthony Hopkins has opened up about his battle with alcoholism as a young actor, saying that he “should have died in Wales, drunk or something like that”.

The acclaimed Oscar-winning star, now 80 years old, said he was “very difficult to work with” when he was making his name on the stage because he “was usually hungover”, as he addressed a crowd of around 500 students at the University of California this week.

Born in Port Talbot, Wales, but now a resident of Los Angeles, Hopkins was discussing the nature of the film and theatre industry and how it impacted him as a young man. He said that he began to turn his career and life around after talking to a woman from Alcoholics Anonymous in 1975.

Continue reading: Anthony Hopkins Reveals Impact Of Alcoholism Battle

Westworld Star Evan Rachel Wood Thrilled She's Finally Earning As Much As Her Male Co Stars


Evan Rachel Wood Anthony Hopkins Ed Harris

Popular dystopian US drama Westworld gripped fans during its series one run and has hundreds of people keen for its second series return later this month. However, it seems even the newest of programmes has still not pulled itself into the 21st Century with one of the show’s main female protagonists, Evan Rachel Wood revealing she was not paid the same as her male co-stars.

Evan Rachel WoodEvan Rachel Wood has not been paid the same as her male co-stars in Westworld

The actress, who plays Dolores in the hit show, will be paid as the same as the male protagonists beginning from the third series.

Continue reading: Westworld Star Evan Rachel Wood Thrilled She's Finally Earning As Much As Her Male Co Stars

Thor: Ragnarok Review

Very Good

The most riotously enjoyable Marvel movie yet, this action epic benefits hugely from the decision to let wacky New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi loose with the characters. In many ways, this film has the same comical sensibilities as his classics What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Except on a much larger scale with massive special effects. Yet even with all this action, there's not a moment of actual suspense, which is a growing problem in a movie universe in which the characters need to survive unscathed.

 

Ragnarok is a prophecy about the end of time, specifically the death of King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and the destruction of Asgard. And it has just been triggered, stopping Odin's sons Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in their tracks with the news that they have an older sister, Hela (Cate Blanchett), the self-proclaimed goddess of death. As she brutally asserts her claim to the throne, the brothers find themselves dumped on the planet Sakaar. Loki mischievously worms his way into the favour of the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum), who sends Thor into the coliseum to fight the champion, namely his old friend Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). As Thor convinces Hulk's alter-ego David Banner to return with him to Asgard to stop Hela, he also needs Asgard's last Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), a tetchy warrior who is reluctant to work with him.

Continue reading: Thor: Ragnarok Review

Thor: Ragnarok Trailer


With his friends and his hammer, Thor is virtually unbeatable by any creature in the known universe. But what about when he doesn't have either of those things? It only takes a run-in with afterlife goddess Hela for his hammer to be destroyed, apparently beyond repair. And when he is kidnapped by her people and taken to the planet Sakaar, he has no choice but to enter into a gladiator match to save the people of Asgard from Ragnarök; the fate of total destruction. To his initial delight, and to the confusion of everyone in the arena, his opponent turns out to be none other than the Incredible Hulk. But when he realises that this Hulk is hell-bent on destroying him, he realises that he has no choice but to fight his supposed friend to the death. 

Continue: Thor: Ragnarok Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight Review

Bad

With this fifth Transformers movie, it seems clear that Michael Bay is still trying to define this franchise. The first film was solidly entertaining, but the sequels have been hit and miss. And this jarringly chaotic episode never finds its feet. Is it aimed at teen boys (robots hitting each other), young children (a random little girl in the cast) or action fans (Mark Wahlberg being heroic)? Meanwhile, the plot only barely connects a stream of wildly overblown set-pieces.

We find Wahlberg's mad inventor Cade now in hiding protecting the good Autobots, while government meathead Lennox (Josh Duhamel) chases the evil Decepticons. Somewhere in space, tentacled temptress Quintessa (Gemma Chan) has turned heroic Transformer Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) to the dark side, and now they're heading to suck the life out of Earth, as you do. Humanity's only hope is in a mysterious talisman Cade possesses and the staff of Merlin the magician (Stanley Tucci in an Arthurian prologue), which only Oxford professor Vivian (Laura Haddock) can wield. She's accompanied by dotty Sir Edmund (Anthony Hopkins), who helpfully explains the mythology with the assistance of robot butler Cogman (Jim Carter). Then everyone converges on Stonehenge for an epic battle.

To be fair, Bay does have an eye for spectacle, and the film looks properly amazing in Imax 3D, especially as Bay throws everything he can think of at the screen, including some adorable baby dinosaur robots, a submarine chase, various elements from Star Wars and Alien, and a military invasion that desperately wants to outdo Saving Private Ryan's opening scene. All of this is piled into a blender and edited together with absolutely no sense of logic or geography.

Continue reading: Transformers: The Last Knight Review

Solace Trailer


Somebody is committing increasingly gruesome and elaborate murders and the FBI don't know where to begin with tracking down the suspect. A team, led by special agent Joe Merriweather, decide that they have no choice but to enlist a veteran doctor named John Clancy, whose psychic abilites allow him to see things that no-one else can see no matter how much detective work they do. He has been living a life of solitude for the last two years after his own daughter died, but agrees to help for the sake of his old friend Joe. Unfortunately for him, this case is more than a match for his powers because their serial killer is constantly one step ahead of them. Clancy soon deduces that they are looking at somebody with psychic skills far superior to his own, and that the FBI agents are little more than flies running towards Charles Ambrose's sprawling web of death with each move.

Continue: Solace Trailer

Sir Anthony Hopkins on the film set of 'Transformers: The Last Knight' in Oxford, United Kingdom - Friday 23rd September 2016

Sir Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins

HBO Releases Teaser Trailer For Upcoming Sci-Fi Series, ‘Westworld’


Anthony Hopkins Evan Rachel Wood Jeffrey Wright James Marsden Thandie Newton Ed Harris Jj Abrams Ben Barnes Jerry Weintraub Michael Crichton Christopher Nolan

HBO has released its first teaser trailer for its upcoming series, Westworld. The trailer was aired before the season two finale of True Detective on Monday (10th July). In typical HBO fashion, the series promises to be action packed, visually impressive and featuring a hugely talented cast.

Anthony HopkinsAnthony Hopkins at the L.A. premiere of Thor: Dark World in November 2013.

Read More: Anthony Hopkins Tops Insane Cast for HBO's Dystopian Theme Park Series, Westworld.

Continue reading: HBO Releases Teaser Trailer For Upcoming Sci-Fi Series, ‘Westworld’

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Review


OK

Bizarrely, this Dutch film tries desperately to wedge true events into the shape of an American thriller, but the action sequences are so lacklustre that a fascinating story ends up feeling dull and pointless. It's even been rewritten in English, using a random range of British, Australian and European accents. So while the plot manages to just about hold the interest, the film drags out the story and struggles to find any point of emotional resonance.

This is about the largest ransom ever paid, in 1982 Amsterdam. Faced with the collapse of their construction company, Cor, Willem, Jan and Frans (Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten and Mark van Eeuwen) make a desperate decision to risk everything by kidnapping the billionaire head of the Heineken beer empire, Freddy (Anthony Hopkins), demanding a $60 million ransom. They manage to get him into their hideout, but are frustrated as the days drag into weeks while the police fret about the case, believing that they are dealing with a major international crime ring. The question is whether these amateurs can maintain their cool and pull this off.

Further wrinkles are supplied by the fact that Cor is expecting a baby with his girlfriend (Jemima West), who happens to be Willem's sister. This creates an intriguing dynamic between the two men, so the relationship depicted by Sturgess and Worthington is by far the most compelling thing about the film. Meanwhile, Hopkins does his best to walk off with the movie in a superbly relaxed turn as a cocky, demanding victim who's more concerned about his also-abducted chauffeur (David Dencik) than himself. All of these elements have the potential to add tension and intrigue to the movie, but British writer William Brookfield and Swedish director Daniel Alfredson never bother to properly deepen most of the characters or situations, while continually watering things down with under-powered chase sequences.

Continue reading: Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Review

Ian McKellen Honoured With Star In His Hometown Of Wigan


Ian McKellen Anthony Hopkins X-Men

Ian McKellen will be honoured in his hometown of Wigan.  He will be given a star in Wigan town centre. Although McKellen was born in Burnley, the 75-year-old actor lived in Wigan during the 1940s. McKellen said he was pleased to receive the award as the town "holds many special memories".

Ian McKellenIan McKellen will recieve an honour in his hometown of Wigan.

Read More: Patrick Stewart & Ian McKellen Probably Not Reprising Their Roles in X-Men: Apocalypse.

Continue reading: Ian McKellen Honoured With Star In His Hometown Of Wigan

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer


Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (Anthony Hopkins), head of the Heineken International brewing company, was worth billions. When a group of opportunistic friends land on a simple 5-day get-rich-quick scheme, it involves kidnapping Mr. Heineken and collection a 60 million dollar payday. After months of planning and preparation for the kidnapping, they spring into action - perfectly catching and whisking away Heineken in Amsterdam and taking him to their secure, secret hideout. But here, things start to go wrong. Unable to get the ransom demands, the group discover that they are being toyed with by Heineken, as he plays them at their own game.

Continue: Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Stella Arroyave, Anthony Hopkins and niece - 'American Idol' Finale Results Show live at the Nokia Theatre- Arrivals - Los Angeles, California, United States - Friday 17th May 2013

Stella Arroyave, Anthony Hopkins and Niece

Anthony Hopkins and Stella Hopkins - Anthony Hopkins, Stella Hopkins Leipzig, Germany - Osgar Awards at Leipziger Rathaus city hall - Red carpet arrivals Tuesday 24th June 2008

Anthony Hopkins and Stella Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins Quick Links

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Anthony Hopkins

Date of birth

31st December, 1937

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.74


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Anthony Hopkins Movies

Thor: Ragnarok Movie Review

Thor: Ragnarok Movie Review

The most riotously enjoyable Marvel movie yet, this action epic benefits hugely from the decision...

Thor: Ragnarok Trailer

Thor: Ragnarok Trailer

With his friends and his hammer, Thor is virtually unbeatable by any creature in the...

Transformers: The Last Knight Movie Review

Transformers: The Last Knight Movie Review

With this fifth Transformers movie, it seems clear that Michael Bay is still trying to...

Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight Trailer

Where is Optimus Prime when we need him most? Despite the fact that Earth is...

Transformers: The Last Knight Super Bowl Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight Super Bowl Trailer

Has humanity been left to defend itself against the ruthless Decepticons now that Optimus Prime...

Collide Trailer

Collide Trailer

Casey Stein (Nicholas Hoult) never had intentions of a life of crime, but during a...

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Solace Trailer

Solace Trailer

Somebody is committing increasingly gruesome and elaborate murders and the FBI don't know where to...

Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight - Teaser Trailer

With the few remaining Autobots in hiding, the world is a dark place. Galvatron is...

Transformers: The Last Knight 'Freya The Rescue Dog' - Featurette Trailer

Transformers: The Last Knight 'Freya The Rescue Dog' - Featurette Trailer

Not much is known about the new Transformers movie but we do now know that...

Misconduct Trailer

Misconduct Trailer

Ben Cahill is an ambitious lawyer with an overwhelming urge to see justice for those...

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Movie Review

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken Movie Review

Bizarrely, this Dutch film tries desperately to wedge true events into the shape of an...

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Trailer

Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (Anthony Hopkins), head of the Heineken International brewing company, was worth...

Noah Movie Review

Noah Movie Review

Darren Aronofsky continues to ambitiously experiment with genres in this Old Testament blockbuster, but this...

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