WAKE UP AND LIVE

In a candid chat ahead of the release of his memoir We Did OK, Kid, actor, artist and composer Sir Anthony Hopkins reveals how his tough childhood and long battle with alcoholism formed the contented, joyful man he is today

- BY JENNIFER H. CUNNINGHAM AND H. ALAN SCOTT

THE EVIL HE PROJECTED AS HANNIBAL Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs was chilling. But it was nothing compared to the battle Sir Anthony Hopkins faced against the demons of his past. The rebellious anger forged in him from being bullied during a lonely childhood in Wales drove him, but the fierce grip alcoholism held in adulthood threatened to silence his talent for good. Knowing all this, the title of Hopkins' new memoir, We Did OK, Kid, is more than just a lighthearted quip; it's a verdict of his 87 years spent overcoming personal struggles to find success and be at peace with himself.

Speaking exclusively to Newsweek, Hopkins recalled the pivotal moment at age 17 with his father, a baker, that turned his anger into his strength. “My father said, 'I don't know what's gonna happen to you. Hopeless.' And I took a step back and said, 'One day I'll show you,” Hopkins said. “My father looked at me and said, 'Well, I hope you do.' I think what happened at that moment, I had stopped playing the game of being stupid. And I was angry, resentful, repressed, put all that stuff inside me, and I think it switched something on.”

It ignited a determination that propelled Hopkins down an extraordinary path. He was soon spotted by legendary Shakespearean actor Sir Laurence Olivier and invited to join the Royal National Theatre in London in 1965, which set the stage for him to eventually become one of cinema’s most iconic performers. Hopkins’ work on film would result in breaking two Academy Award records: His 1992 Best Actor win for The Silence of the Lambs is the shortest lead performance to ever win, according to Guinness World Records, and his 2021 win for The Father at age 83 made him the oldest person to be awarded an acting Oscar.