I was at home preparing breakfast one Saturday morning when the telephone rang. I picked up the receiver and the voice on the other end of the line said, “This is Tony Hopkins, you wrote to me…”

I should explain that my husband is a talent agent and he had made a few discreet calls, trying to contact Anthony Hopkins "at home". Obviously it had paid off. I must have sounded puzzled. “Who?” I asked, “I don't know a Tony…” The voice on the other end cut in, “I'm Anthony Hopkins, the actor.”

And that was my first conversation with the great man himself. We arranged to meet a week later at the elegantly restored Langham Hilton Hotel in London where we would record the interview.

It was a bright slightly crisp sunny day when my husband Robert and I met the two camera men, lighting man, and the sound engineer on the pavement outside the hotel. We introduced ourselves at reception and the hotel manager escorted us to the Royal Suite on the third floor. When the hotel was built in 1865 it faced directly onto Regent's Park. The development of London has taken its toll over the years and now the park can just be seen in the distance.

The Royal Suite is a good-sized room with large windows that faced directly onto Portland Place. It was stylishly decorated with large comfy armchairs.

The film crew were still in the preparation stage when Anthony Hopkins walked in. He told us he had had a very pleasant walk through Regent's Park, chatting occasionally with passers-by and with gardeners who were busy with their unending work maintaining the park, one of London's premier attractions.

 

Pots of tea were ordered and after sound and lighting checks, we were ready to begin. Sir Anthony had already familiarised himself with the names of the crew, insisting that they call him Tony and asking the make-up artist for tips on keeping his weight in check.

A few minutes later the recording had started and we were talking about his childhood. He told me that he suffered during his school years as he was dyslexic (though the term was not in use then) so to cover the problems he became the class clown. He was a natural mimic and he said he often imitated the teachers' voices so he could make the other kids laugh.

His father was the one who got him started as an actor. Anthony explained that as a child he was very shy and used to play dirges on the piano at home after school, he played the piano well and was a good artist. One day his father suggested he get out of the house.

“Do something with your life. Join the YMCA and meet people.”

So at seventeen he joined a local acting group run by Cyril James in Port Talbot near to his home in Wales. Richard Burton was from the same town and young Anthony was very impressed with what the actor had accomplished. When he was fifteen he went and knocked on Richard Burton's door to ask for his autograph, Richard was home from Hollywood with his wife Sybil.

Q: Were you impressed with Richard Burton?

A: After giving me the autograph, Richard was going to the big rugby match in Cardiff with Sybil and his brother. As I was walking back home down the hill, I watched him drive by in his Jaguar, thinking, I've got to get out of this life of mine. I've got to get out of this environment of my own mind. I've got to do something with my life.

Q: How did you get into acting?

A: I joined this little acting group and then I got a scholarship to the Cardiff College of Music and Drama. Then I went into the military service, National Service, and when I came out I made a decision to follow an acting career.”

Q: How did you feel when you discovered that this was something you were good at?

A: I look back on my life and I still see myself as a lucky amateur who just got away with it. I don't really feel that comfortable in ensemble companies. This business has given me a very good living.

Q: How do you prepare for a role?

A: I simply learn the lines and show up. I get the script, and I read it over and over again, going over the part until I let the character play me.

Q: Do you believe in destiny?

A: I'm a fatalist. I believe that if we relax and let go, then extraordinary things begin to happen. You can't really control your destiny.

Q: I was really interested in the story you told me about meeting Katherine Hepburn, during the filming of "The Lion in Winter".

A: It was my first film. There were three young actors in it, John Castle, Timothy Dalton (who went on to do the Bond Films), Nigel Terry and myself. Hepburn used to help us, she'd say to me,

“Don't act so much. Don't use so much voice. Let the camera do all the work. Watch Spencer Tracey, he was the best.”

She was tough and she was generous. I remember one day she said “What a wonderful life. Here we are in the South of France in February in a castle, being paid for what we do, never forget that.”

“And I never have. That's why I love making films. I travel all over the world, do what I want to do, and at the end of the day I'm surprised they pay me for it.”

Q: What about directors you have worked with?

A: I've had a bit of a stormy reputation in the past with directors. Now I've come to peace with myself and directors. Actually, I did something for George Martin, in "Under Milk Wood" and I was directing a lot of actors and I suddenly realised the enormous pressure directors are under. And sometimes I know why they get bad tempered and dictatorial, because of fear. The best directors I've worked with are James Ivory and Jonathan Demme in "Silence of the Lambs". Director David Hare and of course Francis Ford Coppola, not the easiest person to work with, he's a creative giant, a very kind and generous man. I thing those directors are terrific they are the ones who are easy to work with.”

Anthony's advice to young people wanting to be actors was,

“Don't just talk about it, go out and do it. Opportunities are there, so find them.”

He seemed ready to converse on any topic. He expressed his surprise at getting an Oscar for "Silence of the Lambs", he forgot to thank the usual people and thanked his mother!

The time had rushed by and I needed to close the interview. I asked how he would like to be remembered.

He replied “Mr Nice Guy!”

And he is.