Anthony Hopkins was born on December 31, 1937, in Margam, Wales, to
Muriel Anne (Yeats) and Richard Arthur Hopkins, a baker. His parents
were both of half Welsh and half English descent. Influenced by
Richard Burton, he decided to
study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, he
moved to London and joined the National Theatre, invited by
Laurence Olivier, who could see the
talent in Hopkins. In 1967, he made his first film for television,
A Flea in Her Ear (1967).
From this moment on, he enjoyed a successful career in cinema and
television. In 1968, he worked on
Der Löwe im Winter (1968) with
Timothy Dalton. Many successes came
later, and Hopkins' remarkable acting style reached the four corners of
the world. In 1977, he appeared in two major films:
Die Brücke von Arnheim (1977) with
James Caan,
Gene Hackman,
Sean Connery,
Michael Caine,
Elliott Gould and
Laurence Olivier, and
Maximilian Schell. In 1980, he worked
on Der Elefantenmensch (1980). Two
good television literature adaptations followed:
Othello (1981) and
Der Glöckner von Notre Dame (1982).
In 1987 he was awarded with the Commander of the order of the British
Empire. This year was also important in his cinematic life, with
Zwischen den Zeilen (1987),
acclaimed by specialists. In 1993, he was knighted.
In the 1990s, Hopkins acted in movies like
24 Stunden in seiner Gewalt (1990) and
Wiedersehen in Howards End (1992),
Was vom Tage übrig blieb (1993)
(nominee for the Oscar),
Legenden der Leidenschaft (1994),
Nixon - Der Untergang eines Präsidenten (1995) (nominee for the Oscar),
Mein Mann Picasso (1996),
Amistad - Das Sklavenschiff (1997) (nominee for the Oscar),
Die Maske des Zorro (1998),
Rendezvous mit Joe Black (1998) and
Instinkt (1999). His most remarkable
film, however, was
Das Schweigen der Lämmer (1991),
for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He also got a B.A.F.T.A. for
this role.
