People: For him, every film is a lucky break
Anthony Hopkins‘ wife would like him to lie more.
She wants him to start making up stories about how he creates memorable characters – such as serial killer Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs,” for which he won an Oscar, and the brilliant, diabolical wife-murderer Ted Crawford in the new “Fracture.”
“When I tell people that I just learn my lines and that’s all there is to it, my wife thinks that I’m putting down the craft of acting,” says the 69-year-old Hopkins.
“But I’m not putting it down. I have nothing but respect for the craft. And I could come up with all sorts of fancy theories about playing these characters but, basically, it’s just a matter of learning the lines.”
In “Fracture,” he plays a structural engineer who strongly suspects that his younger wife is having an affair. Rather than working out their difficulties through counseling, he decides to shoot her in the head.
Hopkins, who’s made seven movies in the last two years (including the upcoming “Slipstream,” which he wrote and directed), says the filmmaking routine helps get him into character.
“The way it works is that I show up at the location in the morning and grab a cup of coffee,” he explains. “I go to hair and makeup, and put on the character’s clothes.
“I talk to the director and the other actors. The camera crew comes in and marks the set. We go through some rehearsals. By the time I get through with all that preparation on the set, and the reading of the script over and over again, I’m into the character. … It’s as exciting to me now as it was 30 years ago.”
The Welsh-born Hopkins has said he was inspired to get into acting by a chance meeting at 15 with countryman Richard Burton. He later attended a school for the arts and became a protege of Laurence Olivier.
He began his film career on a high note, appearing in the 1968 classic “The Lion in Winter.” But it was in the 1990s that Hopkins’ career soared, with Oscar-nominated roles in “The Remains of the Day,” “Nixon” and “Amistad,” as well as “The Silence of the Lambs.”
“When you’re approaching 70, you’re lucky to still be working,” he says. “It’s always a wonderful surprise whenever people send me scripts to read.
“I know this is going to sound incredibly silly, but I get thrilled when I get to work with a Brad Pitt, a Jodie Foster or a (“Fracture” co-star) Ryan Gosling. I feel great pride that not only do these young actors invite me along to work with them, but I am able to hold my own with them.”
Hopkins, who married for the third time in 2003, will celebrate his 70th birthday on Dec. 31 with a party in his hometown in Wales.
“It was my wife’s idea,” he says. “It’s a way of bringing things full circle. And I think she also wants to meet all my old girlfriends.”
The birthday bunch
Singer Glen Campbell is 71. Actor Jack Nicholson is 70. Director John Waters is 61. Singer Peter Frampton is 57. Actor-comedian Ryan Stiles is 48. Actress Sheryl Lee (“Twin Peaks”) is 40. Actor Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty”) is 36. Musician Daniel Johns (Silverchair) is 28.