Anthony Hopkins was born on 31 December 1937 in Wales. When at school he wasn’t too interested in studying and rather spend his time on painting/drawing and playing music. Actor Richard Burton encouraged him to become an actor and he went to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. He graduated in 1957. He went into the British Army for national service for 2 years. After this he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He started acting on the stage and became understudy for Laurence Olivier in 1965. He wasn’t too fond of playing the same part each evening and he started to become interested in films. He first appeared on screen in the BBC’s A Flea in Her Ear and his first movie was The Lion in Winter (which also stars Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn and Timothy Dalton). He still did theatre but slowly did more and more TV and movie acting. Movies he played in include War and Peace, A Bridge Too Far, The Elephant Man, The Bounty, The Mask of Zorro, Meet Joe Black, Hitchcock and Thor. His most famous role though is his portrayal of serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, for which he received an Oscar for best actor. Continue reading
