Anthony Hopkins

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 Lew w zimie (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: O jeden most za daleko (1977) with James Caan, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Elliott Gould and Laurence Olivier, and Maximilian Schell. In 1980, he worked on Człowiek słoń (1980). Two good television literature adaptations followed: Othello (1981) and Dzwonnik z 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 Charing Cross 84 (1987), acclaimed by specialists. In 1993, he was knighted.In the 1990s, Hopkins acted in movies like Godziny rozpaczy (1990) and Powrót do Howards End (1992), Okruchy dnia (1993) (nominee for the Oscar), Wichry namiętności (1994), Nixon (1995) (nominee for the Oscar), Picasso - twórca i niszczyciel (1996), Amistad (1997) (nominee for the Oscar), Maska Zorro (1998), Joe Black (1998) and Instynkt (1999). His most remarkable film, however, was Milczenie owiec (1991), for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor. He also got a B.A.F.T.A. for this role.