Sir Anthony Hopkins has said he feels a 'wonderful peacefulness' about the approach of death, insisting: 'There's a tremendous freedom because there is nothing I can do about it.' The 82-year-old actor, marking 60 years on screen, told how he has accepted 'the inevitable' – although he has no plans to go just yet.
In an extraordinary interview, Hopkins said: 'Your life is terminal. It's a terminal condition, you're not going to get off the planet alive. With that reality there's a tremendous freedom, a wonderful peacefulness about it.' He recalled his mother's death at age 89, noting she 'had just had enough' and 'wanted to go'.
The Welsh star opened up about his feelings to discuss his latest role as a dementia sufferer in the film 'The Father', due out in January, co-starring Olivia Colman. The role marks a 60-year career that has earned him an estimated £125 million. Hopkins made his debut in the 1960 BBC series 'A Matter Of Degree'.
His most iconic role as Hannibal Lecter in 1991's 'The Silence of the Lambs' won him an Oscar for Best Actor. But Hopkins has appeared to soften with age, embracing more benevolent characters, such as Pope Benedict XVI in 2019's 'The Two Popes'. He also revealed he embraces his feelings more now, something he once saw as a weakness, saying: 'I still get slightly embarrassed when I see men cry, yet I cry easily myself.'
Hopkins has had a fractured relationship with his only child, musician Abigail, now 52. He once revealed he had not spoken to her in 20 years and did not care whether she had children. But he now says he is 'putting all those threads into me' and feels a connection to his past in Wales.
