‘Distant Star’: Anthony Hopkins’ forgotten single that reached the charts
It seems that no Hollywood actor is safe from the siren-like pull of releasing a single, not even Anthony Hopkins, as even the tightest of metal masks wasn’t enough to keep this little lamb silent.
Hopkins obviously wasn’t the first Hollywood actor to release a song. In fact, the worlds of music and Hollywood have often found themselves intertwined. It seems to stem back to Elvis Presley, who was arguably the world’s first proper rock star, and the newfound glory that came from such successful music led to his management and those around him becoming confused about what to do with so many eyes on him.
His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, like many at the time, felt that rock ‘n’ roll was just a phase. Upon staring at the Mississippi man’s thrusting hips, he felt as though that movement and that sound was on a timer, so he needed to capitalise on his client’s fame as much as possible. He did this by having him move away from music and begin starring in movies.
It was successful to some extent, but it also started a pretty silly trend that saw the majority of successful musicians thereafter attempt to break onto the silver screen. Who could forget some of The Beatles’ acting attempts? It’s a trend that continues into the modern age as well, as we are frequently hearing of successful musicians attempting to flex their acting chops, despite being, let’s face it, very bad at it.
Of course, this trend goes both ways. A lot of different movie and film stars have attempted to break into the music industry, releasing sub-par singles that were written by somebody else and are completely devoid of any kind of emotion.
Why do these two worlds overlap so much? Well, there seems to be a general consensus in both that a fanbase of any kind will result in an interest in whatever project a specific person is working on in a given moment. In other words, if you like somebody’s music, you will probably watch a film they’re in, and vice versa. It’s annoying that studios and labels try to pull these stunts like an uneasy alliance, and sometimes it fucking works.
As an industry legend, Anthony Hopkins‘ commitment to the screen in both classics and indie flicks is second to none, and it has led to him gaining a worldwide fanbase. In a bid to try and show these fans a different side of himself, Dr Lecter once made the impromptu decision to release a single. The track was called ‘Distant Star’, and while not a classic, it reached a peak of 75 in the UK charts. It may not sound like much, but there are artists who would kill to run numbers like that.
“Oh, god, I can’t remember much about it except it wasn’t very good,” admitted Hopkins when he was reminiscing about the song. He continued to discuss how the track came to be and also divulged how much he was paid for it.
“I was talked into doing it on a Sunday evening in Weybridge by a record producer,” he confirmed, adding, “I still don’t think I’ve been paid.”
