Anthony Hopkins’s contempt for Hollywood

Anthony Hopkins has no great respect for the acting profession, said Sean Macaulay in the London Telegraph. At 73, Hopkins scoffs at the accomplishments in his own storied career, citing a recent visit he made to a cinema complex in suburban Memphis. “Eleven cinemas,” says Hopkins. “They were just about to start the matinee and I looked inside. All these people waddling around with their popcorn and their hot dogs—‘What did you think of the movie?’” He imitates a snore. “I thought, ‘That’s it? This is the movie industry I’ve invested my life in?’” The stage, he says, is no better. “I did some Shakespeare. Jesus Christ, never again. You always have an illusion about yourself that nobody can wait to see your next big Shakespeare performance, but I’ve been onstage and seen people in the front row fast asleep.”

He may sound bitter, but Sir Anthony—knighted for his acting achievements—insists he’s never been happier. “My life turned out to be beyond my greatest dreams,” he says. “I don’t mean money and fame and all that. I mean I’m married.” He met his Colombian-born wife, Stella, a decade ago, when he walked into her antiques shop in California and she gave him a warm Latin hug. “She has brought a lot of peace to my life, I learnt from her to just take life as it comes. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.”

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