Anthony hopkins
He was born Philip Anthony Hopkins in Margam, near Port Talbot, Wales. His parents were the late Richard Arthur Hopkins and Muriel Yeats, a distant relation of poet William Butler Yeats.
His schooldays were unproductive. Due to dyslexia he found himself an anti-social loner, who would rather immerse himself in art, such as painting and drawing or playing the piano, than attend to his studies. In 1949, to instil some discipline, his parents insisted that he attend West Monmouth boarding school in Pontypool. He remained there for five terms, of which Hopkins does not have fond memories. He was then educated at Cowbridge Grammar School.
He was influenced and encouraged to become an actor by fellow Welshman Richard Burton, whom he met briefly at the age of fifteen. To that end, Hopkins enrolled at the College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, from which he graduated in 1957. After a two-year spell in the army, he moved to London where he trained at RADA, at the suggestion of Roy Marsden.
In 1965, he was spotted by Laurence Olivier, who invited him to join the National Theatre. Despite some success there, Hopkins tired of repeating the same roles nightly and yearned to be in films. He got his break in The Lion in Winter (1968) and never looked back.
He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987, and a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1993. (Being a higher award within the same order, only the postnominal KBE is used.) He was also, in 1996, awarded an honorary fellowship from the University of Wales, Lampeter.
Today, Hopkins also takes time to support various philanthropic groups. Hopkins was past Gala Fundraiser Guest of Honour for Women in Recovery, Inc., a Venice, California-based non-profit organization offering rehabilitation for women in need. He is also a volunteer teacher at the Ruskins School of Acting in Santa Monica, California where he also resides.
He has offered his support to various charities and appeals, notably becoming President of the National Trust's Snowdonia Appeal, raising funds for the preservation of the Snowdonia National Park and to aid the Trust's efforts to purchase parts of Snowdon. A book celebrating these efforts, Anthony Hopkins' Snowdonia, was published together with Graham Nobles.
In 2006, Hopkins was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
Hopkins has been wed three times. His first two wives were Petronella Barker (1967–1972) and Jennifer Lynton (1973–2003). He is now married to Colombian Stella Arroyave. He has a daughter named Abigail Hopkins (born 1968) from his first marriage.
He now resides in the United States. He became a naturalized citizen on April 12, 2000. He celebrated this by going on a 3,000-mile road trip across the country. However, as a dual national, he retains his knighthood and uses the title 'Sir' in the UK. He has never used it in the U.S., even before he became a citizen. In common with other British theatrical knights, the title is omitted for professional credits.
He is an acknowledged former alcoholic who has been abstinent since 1975.
Acting style
Hopkins is renowned for his thorough preparation for roles. He has confessed in various interviews that once he has committed to a project, he will go over his lines as many times as are needed (sometimes upwards of 200) until the words are so ingrained in his memory that he can "do it without thinking". This leads to a very natural, almost casual, style of delivery that belies the amount of groundwork done beforehand. It has also brought him into conflict with the occasional director who departs from the script, or demands what the actor views as an excessive number of takes. In addition, he is a gifted mimic, adept at turning his native Welsh accent into whatever is required by a character. It was Hopkins who duplicated the voice of his late mentor, Laurence Olivier, for additional scenes in Spartacus for its 1991 restoration.