Why Anthony Hopkins called his legendary mentor’s views on acting “a crock of horseshit”
Countless controversies have been caused by actors who take their work far too seriously, with everyone from Daniel Day-Lewis to Meryl Streep being criticised for their extreme approaches to acting.
From mailing dead rats to co-stars and slapping people in the face, many have questioned whether some actors take it too far, and if it is sometimes just an excuse to get away with bad behaviour, with techniques often pushed to the limits with very little to show for it.
Hollywood is a strange world that often seems to reward the most ridiculous of people, placing them on a pedestal and handing out awards to the very worst of them. However, there are some stars who see through all the bullshit and call a spade a spade, with Anthony Hopkins criticising one of his acting heroes for adopting a creative philosophy that he doesn’t agree with.
Hopkins is widely known for his work as one of the most terrifying villains of all time, something that makes him an authority on acting after demonstrating his ability to charter the most extreme depths of himself for a role. Throughout his career, he has worked with everyone from David Lynch to Jonathan Demme and Francis Ford Coppola, cultivating an eclectic body of work that matches his range as a performer.
However, while there are many weird and wonderful stories he can get on board with as an actor, there is one that crosses a line for him, despite coming from one of his greatest inspirations. Laurence Olivier is considered one of the greatest actors of all time, who once described acting as “a masochistic form of exhibitionism”.
When asked by Playboy about his thoughts on this statement, Hopkins said, “What a lot of crap. It’s all bullshit. Bullshit. It’s a crock of horseshit, all of it. I don’t know, maybe I’m shallow. Maybe I don’t have much going on in my mind. The only quote which is fairly accurate for myself is that I think actors are all damaged goods.”
Hopkins was then prodded and asked why he wanted to become an actor, to which he responded, “It’s all I know. I’ve been getting away with it for 30 years. I became an actor because I wanted to do something new that would get me out of the rut that I was in. I wanted to make a mark somehow; I wanted to become famous—that’s all I ever wanted. I’d seen Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, and that’s what I wanted to become”.
Adding: “I wanted to become an American actor. My longing to come to America was a more powerful influence than anyone like Olivier, who was the greatest actor of his time.”
While Olivier saw acting as a way of exposing oneself, Hopkins saw it as a way of escape. For one great, it was a form of connecting deeper to parts of yourself actively hidden, while Hopkins completely disagreed, knowing that he simply wanted to be an actor and inhabit other people, completely detached from himself.
We can share much in common with our idols but still disagree on the most fundamental things, with Hopkins showing that while he admired Olivier, he certainly didn’t have to agree with him on how to do the job they both shared, and sometimes, it’s better to forge your own path.
