Comprehensive information and links about Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins in Margam, near Port Talbot, Wales. His parents were the late Richard Arthur Hopkins and Muriel Yeats, who is a distant relation of poet William Butler Yeats. He was influenced and encouraged to become an actor by fellow Welshman Richard Burton, whom he met briefly at the age of fifteen. Hopkins eventually moved to London where he trained as an actor at RADA.

He is an acknowledged alcoholic who has been abstinent since 1975. He now resides in the United States where he became a naturalized citizen on April 12, 2000. However, as a dual national, he retains his knighthood and can use the title 'Sir' in the UK, but not in the US, since it is considered 'inappropriate' according to the British consulate. Proud of his American citizenship, Hopkins stated that as soon as he became a citizen of the country, he went on a 3,000 mile road trip across America.

Hopkins has been married three times. His first two wives were Petronella Barker (1967-1972) and Jennifer Lynton (1973-2003). He is now married to Stella Arroyave. He has a daughter named Abigail Hopkins (born 1968) from his first marriage.

His most famous role was the brilliant portrayal of the cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the film (for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor) opposite Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, who also won the Academy Award for Best Actress that year. In fact the film won the Academy Award for Best Picture as well that year, no doubt due to the electrifying interplay between Hopkins and Foster. It is the shortest lead acting Oscar-winning performance ever, as Hopkins is only on the screen for about sixteen minutes. Hopkins reprised the role of Dr. Lecter twice in , which allowed Hopkins to play Lecter in adaptations of all three Lecter novels. Lecter's slurping sound from was apparently improvised. All three films were based on the bestselling novels by Thomas Harris, who reportedly was very pleased with Hopkins' portrayal of Lecter.

Hopkins has also been Oscar-nominated for (1993), which was based on the award-winning novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. Other Oscar-nominated performances include 1993).

He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1987, and knighted in 1993.

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 was published together with Graham Nobles.

In 2006, Hopkins was the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.

Was playing King Lear on stage at the National Theater while Brian Cox was playing Hannibal Lecter in The drama school at the Southern Institute of Technology in New Zealand was named after him when he was in Invercargill filming The World's Fastest Indian.