The Academy Award-winning performance Anthony Hopkins called “easy to play”
Since Anthony Hopkins began professionally acting in the 1960s, his career has hardly ever lulled. From theatre to movies and television, the actor has appeared in a wide range of titles, demonstrating himself to be one of the most gifted stars of his generation.
He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in the ‘50s before attending RADA in London a few years later, giving him opportunities to star in some prominent productions. By 1965, he was part of the National Theatre, honing his skills on stage before appearing in his first film, The Lion in Winter, in 1968. Despite the movie marking his big-screen debut, Hopkins’ talent stood out among the rest of the cast, and he was recognised with a Bafta nomination.
Working hard through the ‘70s, it wasn’t until the next decade that his career as an international Hollywood icon took off. His appearances in films like the Oscar-nominated The Elephant Man and The Bunker, a made-for-TV movie, helped to establish his presence outside of the United Kingdom. By 1991, however, everyone knew Hopkins’ name. His role in The Silence of the Lambs as the terrifying cannibalistic murderer Hannibal Lecter was incredible, earning him an Academy Award.
From there, he earned more acclaim with The Remains of the Day, earning various awards and an Oscar nomination. Lots more successful movies and television appearances have followed, but there’s one that he found the easiest to play.
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, the Welsh-born actor identified one of his most recent performances as a favourite, going as far as to comment, “I shouldn’t say this, I know it sounds really conceited, but it was so easy to play.” He was referring to his role in The Father, portraying the titular character, who also has the name Anthony, an elderly man experiencing dementia.
The film depicts Anthony’s deteriorating mental state as his daughter, Anne, played by Olivia Colman, attempts to care for him. It’s an incredibly emotional tale that truly digs into the pain, anguish, confusion and difficulties that face both patients and carers struggling to deal with the effects of dementia.
Anthony forgets who people are, tells made-up stories about his life, and, most heartbreakingly, breaks down in confusion over what is happening to him. Directed by Florian Zeller, the film is a tough watch but one that depicts dementia with great accuracy.
Hopkins’ performance was widely praised and he subsequently won an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’, as well as many other prestigious accolades like a BAFTA and a BIFA. He believes that his background in theatre (which matched up with Zeller’s history as a playwright), paired with his own strong memory, aided his performance.
He said, “I have a way of remembering, very clearly, feelings and emotions, and they are ready at the surface,” continuing, “I’m not willfully living in the past, but the past is becoming more present — that’s the process of long-term memory. And I’ve had a long life and a surprising life. My God, I’m so lucky to have come this far with it.”
