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When mentioning the likes of Michael Caine, Richard Attenborough, or Sean Connery, it's best to include the man who turned the fictional criminal of Hannibal Lecter into a renowned character - Anthony Hopkins. Born on December 31 1937 in Port Talbot, Wales. Hopkins seemed to have been called to the arts from a young age, preferring to draw and paint as an adolescent rather than focusing on academics. He was even more inspired to pursue the arts after his encounter with the famed Welsh actor, Richard Burton, when he was 15-years old. The encounter led him to sign up for the Royal Welsch College of Music and Drama. With no regrets or shadow of turning, Hopkins pursued acting full time, amassing a net worth of $160 million and a movie portfolio of close to ninety movies throughout his career. A few of the actors who have been privileged to share the screen with him include Brad Pitt, Chris Hemsworth, Ann-Margret, Russell Crowe, Al Pacino - the list could seemingly go on forever. Here is a bit of history on how Anthony Hopkins became one of the highest-paid and most revered actors in Hollywood.
Fueled By Passion
The multiple Academy Award Winning actor began his acting career, not on the screen, but in the theater. Beginning in 1960, he made his debut stage appearance in the Swansea Little Theatre production of Have a Cigarette. After five years of minor roles in plays, he was finally recognized by an English actor and director named Laurence Olivier, who made him his understudy at the Royal National Theater in London. It was here that Hopkins' star began to shine. Before beginning his film career, he continued in theatre well into the 1980s, even starring opposite Colin Firth in The Lonely Road play at The Old Vic theater in Waterloo, London. During that time and up until 1989, he starred in numerous stage productions, such as Shakespeare's King Lear as well as another Shakespearean tragedy called Antony and Cleopatra, where he stood opposite Judi Dench, both as main characters.
After his tenure with Laurence Olivier at the Royal National Theater in 1967, he would transcend into his film career just one year later. He got his film debut in 1968 as Richard the Lionheart in the 1968 drama film, The Lion in The Winter, and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. It was at this time that he partnered with actor and director Richard Attenborough on numerous films, starting with the 1977 war film, A Bridge Too Far, opposite Michael Caine and Sean Connery. He went on to star in another one of Attenborough's films called Magic, this one a psychological horror starring Ann Margret, where he acted as a mentally troubled aspiring magician named Corky, with an alter ego that comes out during his ventriloquism with a doll he calls Fats. The film was critically acclaimed and grossed. Hopkins would go on to star in a variety of career-defining British films, such as The Looking Glass (1970), Young Winston (1972), and International Velvet (1978) opposite Christopher Plummer and Tatum O'Neal.
Heading into the 1980s, the Bad Company actor was becoming established for his great acting skills, causing some to regard him as the most talented actor of his generation. He continued to decorate the screen with his colorful character displays, such as in David Lynch's The Elephant Man, which won eight Academy Awards for Best Picture. The same year he co-starred with Shirley MacLaine and Bo Derek in the comedy-drama, A Change in Seasons. Now breaking into the American film market, in 1984 he was cast along with Mel Gibson in The Bounty, a historical drama that failed miserably at the box office. However, undaunted and determined as he was, Hopkins persevered as his best years in acting were on the horizon.
A Living Legend On Screen
The 1990s were the years when Hopkins began producing his timeless classics. His role as the cannibalistic, psychopathic serial killer named Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 horror film, Silence of The Lambs, evoked a darker shade of his multilayered character. Starring beside Jodie Foster and Ted Levine, the film won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Hopkins won Best Actor, and made a killing (no pun intended) at the box office with $272.7 million. He portrayed Lecter twice again, once in Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). The trilogy was a major financial success, grossing roughly $832 million when combined.
Adding to his list of classics was the 1992 horror, Bram Stroker's Dracula, where he played Van Helsing opposite Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. Up next was the 1993 drama, The Remains of The Day, with Emma Thompson; the 1993 biographical film Shadowlands; Legends of The Fall (1994) next to Brad Pitt which raked in $160 million, and The Edge (1997) featuring Alec Baldwin and Harold Perrineau. The '90s definitely catapulted Hopkins into superstardom. He ended that decade with a role in The Mask of Zoro opposite Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as Meet Joe Black next to Brad Pitt and Jeffrey Tambor. By 1998, he was ranked the highest-paid British actor, with a $15 million promise to reprise his role as Hannibal Lecter in the 2001 sequel.
But his financial promotion didn't stop there. According to Celeb Answers, after his role in Hannibal in 2001, he was offered $20 million for his role in the Hannibal prequel, Red Dragon, in 2002. He subsequently starred as Burt Munro in the 2005 biographical sports drama, The World's Fastest Indian, featuring Diane Ladd and Paul Rodriguez. Fast-forward to 2010, where the Hollywood Walk of Fame star was cast in the supernatural horror film, Rite, with Alice Braga and Ciarán Hindsm grossing $96.6 million at the box office. His latest major film reprisal was that of Odin in Marvel Comic's adaptation of Thor in 2011, alongside Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki), and Idris Elba (Heimdall), which earned Hopkins $10 million. He reprised the role of Odin in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017), for which he also received $10 million each, according to The Money. Within those years, he also featured as Methuselah in the 2014 biblical drama, Noah, which also starred Russel Crowe and Jennifer Connelly, grossing nearly $360 million.
Just before the world suffered from the pandemic, Hopkins remained busy with his role as Pope Benedict XVI in the 2019 biographical drama, The Two Popes, for which he earned an Academy Award. Then in 2020, he was featured in French director, Florian Zeller's directorial debut film, The Father, which grossed $24.8 million worldwide.
Real Estate And Music
The Wolfman actor has also invested a great deal in real estate over his extensive career in Hollywood. His primary home is worth $7 million and sits in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. He added to his Palisades ownership in 2019 by purchasing $13 million worth of neighboring properties and owns at least $30 million worth of real estate in Los Angeles Alone. Then in 2020, he listed a $3.8 million Malibu property he purchased in 2001 for $11.5 million. Who knew people were buying properties in the pandemic?!
Apart from acting, Hopkins has also delved into other forms of artistic work, such as painting and music. He actually regrets not going to school to study music, stating that he has been composing music his entire life. In 1986, he released a single called Distant Star, peaking at No. 75 on the UK Singles Chart. Then in 2008, his composition The Masque of Time was featured with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In 2012, the BBC Television film actor his own album of music, entitled Composer and was released on CD through the UK radio station, Classic FM. As for his love for painting, Hopkins continues to create abstract pieces of artwork that are featured on his Facebook and Instagram pages, proving he is truly a well-rounded artist.
Sources: alchetron.com, celebanswers.com, themoney.co
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