Hopkins won several awards for his 1975 Broadway debut in Equus, playing a psychiatrist who questions the meaning of his own life when he treats a passionate, disturbed young man who has blinded several horses. Ironically, Burton succeeded Hopkins in the Broadway production and starred in the film version.
Hopkins has played volatile, obsessed characters (the ventriloquist in MAGIC, 1978; Captain Bligh in THE BOUNTY, 1984), as well as quietly repressed, mild-mannered types (Bruno Hauptmann, the accused kidnapper of the Lindbergh baby, in the excellent 1976 TV movie, "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case"; the quiet London bookseller in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD, 1987; and the all-too-perfect butler in THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, 1993). He made an indelible impression, and broadened his audience considerably, as Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter, the brilliant, cultivated serial killer at the center of Jonathan Demme's THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991), and followed up with an enjoyable turn as Dr. Van Helsing in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992). In a role that served as a fitting counterpoint to THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, Hopkins widened his appeal with his emotional portrayal of C.S. Lewis (opposite Debra Winger as Joy Gresham) in Richard Attenborough's classy tearjerker SHADOWLANDS (1993).
Scenes were reintroduced into the 1991 restoration of SPARTACUS (1960), which had been cut from the picture's 1967 reissue. One such segment has Laurence Olivier, in the role of Marcus Crassus, attempting to seduce the slave Antoninus (played by Tony Curtis). But the original soundtrack for this segment had become lost. And so, Olivier having died in 1989, Anthony Hopkins imitated the voice of Olivier (whom Hopkins had understudied at the Old Vic) for the scene's re-created soundtrack. (The surviving Tony Curtis presumably supplied his own voice.)
Other notable (non-nominated) credits include CHAPLIN (1992), THE TRIAL and THE INNOCENT (both 1993), THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE and LEGENDS OF THE FALL (both 1994), AUGUST and SURVIVING PICASSO (both 1996), THE EDGE (1997), THE MASK OF ZORRO and MEET JOE BLACK (both 1998), INSTINCT and TITUS (both 1999), MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (2000), HANNIBAL, HEARTS IN ATLANTIS (2001), BAD COMPANY and RED DRAGON (both 2002), THE HUMAN STAIN (2003), THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER and ALEXANDER (both 2004), PROOF and THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN (both 2005), BOBBY and ALL THE KING'S MEN (both 2006), SLIPSTREAM, FRACTURE and BEOWULF (all 2007), CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION (2008), and THE WOLF MAN (scheduled for 2009).
Hopkins has become one of the most respected actors in Hollywood, and producers scramble to get his name above the title of their picture. For the most part, he explores his character's hidden, tortured side, and he has the uncanny ability to bring the resulting emotions out for the camera to record. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1987, and he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1993 New Year Honours List.
Hopkins' first wife (1967-1962) was actress Petronella Barker. Their daughter is actress Abigail Hopkins (b. 1968). He was married to Jennifer Lynton from 1973 to 2002. In 2003, he married former antiques dealear Stella Arroyave.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1991: THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1993: THE REMAINS OF THE DAY
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1995: NIXON
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role 1997: AMISTAD
4 nominations, 1 Award