The “trick” Laurence Olivier taught Anthony Hopkins
It wasn’t until The Silence of the Lambs that Anthony Hopkins landed the role that would define his entire career, but he was hardly struggling for work beforehand.
Having made his stage and screen debuts in the 1960s, the actor was already renowned as one of his generation’s top talents whether he was working in film, television, or theatre, but it can’t be denied the Academy Award-winning part of Hannibal Lecter opened up a corridor of brand new doors.
Hopkins’ talent was recognised during his formative years treading the boards to an extent no less of an authority than Laurence Olivier couldn’t speak highly enough of his understudy, who filled in during a run of The Dance of Death after he fell ill with appendicitis, writing in his autobiography how “a new young actor in the company of exceptional promise named Anthony Hopkins was understudying me and walked away with the part of Edgar like a cat with a mouse between its teeth.”
Olivier would take Hopkins under his wing away from their performative collaboration, too, forging a bond that would span decades. They only shared the screen once in a feature film when both appeared in 1984’s The Bounty, but Olivier’s insight into how to maximise audience investment in a performance was something that the future two-time Oscar winner never forgot.
“He said economise because if you hit the ceiling all the time, the audience gets dull, and they may as well go to the pub and get drunk next door,” Hopkins said of Olivier’s advice. “He said, ‘Don’t show too much, just contain’. But I never understood that. And as those years have gone by, it’s happened for me. I understand that the less you show, less is more.”
Describing it as having “the power of reserve”, Hopkins opined on how “the less you show, you let the audience do the work,” calling it “a trick” he picked up from his mentor. For an aspiring actor, there weren’t many better learning trees to sit under than that of Olivier, and his influence has always been noted by Hopkins whenever he reflects on his early years.
Even when he found himself getting nervous, Olivier was there to dispense wise words. “He said, ‘Remember: nerves are vanity,'” Hopkins told The Times. “You’re wondering what people think of you? To hell with them, just jump off the ledge.” As one of the greatest actors in history, the veteran was hardly going to be cursed with an unexpected bout of stage fright, but he was happy to pass on the easiest way to avoid it to his protégé.
Since then, Hopkins never looked back as he embarked upon a stellar career that’s now seen him settle into the role of cinema’s elder statesman, albeit one that’s more than capable of delivering a powerhouse performance when called upon.
