Anthony Hopkins slams Jodie Foster feud speculation as “publicity crap”
Anthony Hopkins has slammed rumours of a feud between him and Jodie Foster as “publicity crap”.
The pair previously worked together on the 1991 classic, The Silence of the Lambs, which swept up at the Oscars, winning ‘Best Picture’, as well as Hopkins taking home ‘Best Actor’ and Foster being awarded with ‘Best Actress’.
However, over the years, Foster has spoken in less than favourable terms about her experience on set with Hopkins.
Now, during an appearance on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast, Hopkins claimed her comments were made for publicity purposes, stating, “I met Jodie, and she was very nice.”
The Welsh actor continued, “There’s quotes that Jodie never spoke to me. That’s not true. We were quite friendly. There’s nothing spooky about it. That’s publicity crap.”
Previously, on The Graham Norton Show in 2016, Foster shared that she “never spoke to” Hopkins during filming, before adding, “He was scary.”
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film in 2021, the pair were interviewed together for Variety, Foster shared, “We didn’t get to speak too much before the actual read-through. We just sort of kind of waved from across the room and then sat down at the table. And as you launched into Hannibal Lecter, I felt a chill come over the room. In a way, it was like we were almost too scared to talk to each other after that.”
Hopkins recently published his new memoir, We Did Ok, Kid, which charts his career, as well as personal problems throughout his life, such as his battle with alcoholism.
In a recent interview with The Times, Hopkins discussed the “embarrassment” he has felt for being an actor his entire adult life, stating, ‘I’ve not done a stroke of work in my life. When I look at my life, the reality is I haven’t had a good, decent job in my entire life. I’ve done nothing except show up, speak the lines and go home.”
Despite being 87, Hopkins shows no signs of slowing his career down. In addition to his book launch, his upcoming projects include the new Guy Ritchie movie, Wife & Dog, which also features Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pyke, Cosmo Jarvis, and James Norton.
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