The “most obnoxious actress” Anthony Hopkins ever worked with
The esteemed Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins has led a career of unparalleled consistency and dignity. Like many of his eminent British peers, Hopkins cut his teeth in the Royal National Theatre, sating a deep passion for Shakespeare, especially enjoying a production of King Lear, his favourite play by the immortal British playwright.
Hopkins maintained a steady career in theatre until the late 1980s, notably scooping the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in 1985 for his performance in the David Hare play Pravda. This honour was enhanced for Hopkins in the knowledge that, as a young actor, he had been recognised and welcomed to the National Theatre by Olivier himself.
Although Hopkins fully transitioned into a prolific movie career in the 1990s, a period highlighted by his Academy Award-winning performance in The Silence of the Lambs, he had starred in major film features a decade earlier. His early movie roles include 1968’s The Lion Tamer, 1977’s A Bridge Too Far and David Lynch’s highly acclaimed biopic, The Elephant Man, in 1980.
In 1980, Hopkins also starred in Richard Lang’s comedy-drama A Change of Seasons. Unlike The Elephant Man, the movie was a critical and commercial disappointment, grossing just $7.2 million against a $6m budget. Compounding the air of misery surrounding the feature – and perhaps a factor in its failure – was a rift between Hopkins and his onscreen partner, Shirley MacLaine.
Following the movie’s disappointment and a humiliating Razzie nomination, Hopkins famously described MacLaine as “the most obnoxious actress I have ever worked with”.
During a 2014 interview with the New York Post, MacLaine was reminded of Hopkins’ comments and revealed mutual resentment. “I didn’t like him either, but he was on the wagon at that time, and it was hard on him,” she said, referring to Hopkins’ alcoholism in the 1970s and newfound sobriety at the time of filming.
Hopkins wasn’t alone in his ill feelings toward MacLaine, either. Don Siegel, the director who collaborated with MacLaine while shooting the Clint Eastwood western Two Mules for Sister Sarah, once bemoaned that it was “hard to feel much warmth for her,” adding that MacLaine was “too unfeminine and has too much balls. She’s very, very hard”.
Watch the trailer for A Change of Seasons below.
