When Katharine Hepburn threatened to kick Anthony Hopkins’ ass: “I hope you appreciate this”
Anthony Hopkins is widely recognised as one of the finest actors ever to grace the silver screen. The 86-year-old Welshman has won two Academy Awards, created indelible characters that captured the cultural zeitgeist, and been a reliable presence in films of all kinds for over five decades.
Amusingly, though, he’s never been able to take himself or his profession too seriously, and sometimes that leads to him telling off-colour anecdotes. Like, for example, when he revealed Old Hollywood legend Katharine Hepburn told him she’d kick his ass.
Hopkins started his career in the theatre and spent most of the ’60s treading the boards in his native Wales before eventually making it to the Royal National Theatre in London. His first screen role came in a 1967 BBC version of the play A Flea in Her Ear, and the following year, he made his feature film debut in The Lion in Winter.
Amazingly, Hopkins lucked out in his very first big screen role, playing Richard the Lionheart in a prestigious production that starred Peter O’Toole and Katharine Hepburn. Hopkins was acclaimed for his performance, and the film was nominated for three Academy Awards, with the 60-year-old Hepburn taking home her third ‘Best Actress’ trophy.
In 2020, Hopkins was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times about his career, and when he was asked why he had chosen a certain role, his answer was customarily flippant. He said, “I don’t want to sound dismissive, but it’s just a job that’s offered to me. If I like the script, I’ll say yes.”
The interviewer then wondered if he was more conscientious as a young actor in his early film days, but he once again dismissed the idea. He mused, “I’ve always been like that. I don’t consider myself an intellectual or a very bright person. I’m intelligent enough.”
However, he did admit that when he worked in the thoughtful, stuffy world of theatre, he felt he didn’t fit in. In fact, another actor told him, “Your attitude is bad. You don’t seem to take it seriously.“
Hopkins went on to give some insight into his overriding philosophy toward life, which he also applies to his work. He revealed that he simply tries to be nice to everyone, from the waiters serving him in a restaurant to the makeup artists who prepare him for the screen. He dislikes the idea that he’s somehow more important than these people, although he does appreciate what they do for him, and hates the tendency rich Hollywood stars have to look “up our own backsides.”
“The guy who does my trailer in the morning,” explained Hopkins, “Or hands me the props, makeup, hair, camera guys. They’re the guys who put my stupid face on the screen. I’m nothing. I’m just a vehicle. People who believe they’re special, that is the way to hell on Earth.”
Despite his repeated refusal to engage in anything approaching an in-depth exploration of the craft of acting, Hopkins did speak of his experience working on The Lion in Winter. He remembered a time when he and Hepburn were standing on a castle parapet in the glorious Tarascon sunshine.
Adopting a pitch-perfect impression of the iconic leading lady, he claimed she told him, “I hope you appreciate this. Here we are making a lot of money in the middle of winter in the south of France getting sunburned.”
When the young Hopkins replied that he did indeed appreciate the privilege he was being afforded as an actor, she nodded in approval and said, “Good, because if you don’t, I’ll kick your ass.”
So, does this mean Hopkins’ no-nonsense approach to his profession was directly inspired by the actress best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in old-school Hollywood productions of the ’30s and ’40s? Well, not entirely, because it seems he was pretty laid back even in his theatre days.
However, it can’t be denied that Hepburn’s advice – or good-natured threat – on that sunny day in France made a huge impression on him.
