Hopkins, Sir Anthony, 1937–, British actor, b. Port Talbot, Wales. A classically schooled actor, he studied drama in Wales and London, made his stage debut in 1960, and was long a member of the British National Theatre. A brilliant and versatile performer, he has acted in more than 25 plays, 30 films, and 40 television dramas. Although he has performed an enormous variety of roles, Hopkins is especially adept at portraying eccentric characters, from the merely odd to the truly monstrous. Plays in which he has appeared include Equus, Old Times, Macbeth, Pravda (1985), and King Lear (1986). Since his first film, The Lion in Winter (1968), he has appeared in Magic (1978), The Elephant Man (1980), Remains of the Day (1993), and Nixon (1995), among others. He won an Academy Award and achieved Hollywood stardom for his chilling portrayal of the murderous Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Hopkins was knighted in 1993.
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