PremiumSir Anthony Hopkins turns 86 - Check out these 5 unforgettable performances of the knighted actor
Renowned actor-director Anthony Hopkins celebrates his 86th birthday today. He has worked in nearly a hundred films, almost fifty television shows, & more than twenty different productions till date.
Last Updated: 12.59 PM, Dec 31, 2023
Sir Anthony Hopkins is a legendary Welsh actor-director-cum-producer, who has won two of the six Oscar nominations he got, four of the nine BAFTA nommies, and two out of six Primetime Emmys. He was also nominated for eight Golden Globes and seven Screen Actors Guild awards. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to drama in 1993, right after his magnum opus performance in a particularly challenging character in 1991. If the veteran actor, who will be seen again in Rebel Moon 2, intrigues you, then check out these five performances of his that are unforgettable and worthy of applause.
The Remains of the Day (1993)
Based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s titular Booker Prize-winning novel that explores the nuanced psychological narrative of an English butler, who still takes pride in his work, one of the last of a dying tribe. As the man takes his first holiday in years and ventures to meet an old friend in the countryside, he travels back in time and memory through all the major incidents in his life, in a stunning, non-linear manner. Anthony Hopkins as Stevens, the emotionally repressed butler, earned the film eight Academy Award nominations and was ranked in 1999 by the British Film Institute as the 64th greatest British film of the 20th century.
The film is available on Netflix.
The Father (2020)
The Father is one of Hopkins’ best performances till date. In the film he plays the role of a dementia-afflicted octogenarian, who is unable to distinguish reality from fiction and people from each other. Throughout the course of the film, his daughter Anne, portrayed perfectly by the talented Olivia Colman, attempts to care for him by sacrificing her own needs and personal life, appearing to him sometimes as his other daughter Lucy, or a caregiver Catherine, before finally hiring someone to look after him while visiting on weekends.
The film is available on Prime Video.
Howard’s End (1992)
Anthony Hopkins plays a self-made yet self-satisfied Henry Wilcox in this film about class struggle and the tragedy of inherited wealth among the Edwardian middle classes. Though the film focuses on the story of the Schlegel sisters, Helen and Margaret, the latter’s tumultuous relationship with the widower, and later husband, Henry, owner of Howard’s End, the mansion, is an intriguing part of the project. Hopkins is a delight to see on screen with his versatility at its peak.
The film is available on Prime Video.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Based on Bram Stoker’s 1897 Victorian novel, that has popularized the myth of vampires, the Francis Ford Coppola-directed venture stars the talented likes of Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, and Keanu Reeves, with Hopkins essaying the dynamic role of Professor Van Helsing, the only known expert of vampire lore and Dracula’s arch nemesis. The actor has never disappointed in any role, and this time was no exception.
The film is available on Netflix.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Probably the film Anthony Hopkins is best known for, as it was he, who popularized the character of Dr Hannibal Lecter, a highly intelligent psychiatrist as well as a cannibalistic serial killer, based on the eponymous 1988 novel by Thomas Harris. The film follows Jodie Foster as an FBI agent, who has to resort to the deadly but imprisoned Dr Lecter’s help to catch a free, dangerous serial killer who goes by the name of Buffalo Bill. Hopkins’ portrayal of the character was such that despite multiple adaptations and additions to the Lecter-verse, none have been able to shake him from the leading position of the best Hannibal Lecter.
The film is available on Prime Video.