Hollywood legend Sir Anthony Hopkins has opened up about his mortality and his deep connection to Wales, admitting that although he longs to return to his home country, time may no longer be on his side. The 88-year-old Oscar winner, who has lived in the US for over five decades, spoke candidly in a new interview about his heritage, his sobriety, and his surprise debut record deal.
Anthony Hopkins on wanting to return to Wales
During an interview with ITV News, the host asked Anthony Hopkins, “Is there any part of you that wishes that you were still living in Wales?”The Port Talbot-born actor replied, “I haven’t been there for two years, but I love going back there. I love going back to the streets. I haven’t done that for about two, three years now. But I do like it. I love it, but there’s no time, really.”He continued, reflecting on his age and his roots. He said, “Lifetime is running out, but I do love it. And going back to Port Talbot and Margam, I wish I could just get out and walk around a bit, but I’m getting a bit too old for that walking around.”
Anthony Hopkins reveals he ‘visits’ Wales through Google Street view
Despite becoming a US citizen in 2000, Anthony Hopkins revealed that Wales remains constantly on his mind. Asked if he thinks about his homeland often, he said, “All the time. All the time.”He admitted to using Google Street View to revisit the streets of his childhood, explaining, “You can Google things, don’t you? I go to streets and I move up the street. The photographs of my streets in Wales or anywhere, really. But I’m always going back there. I would say every year, most days, I’m back there. Somehow the memories are very powerful.”
More about his surprise debut album , ‘Life Is A Dream’
Anthony Hopkins, known for iconic roles in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Hitchcock’ and ‘The Father’, has just released his debut album, ‘Life Is A Dream’, via Decca Classics. The record brings together compositions written over six decades, paying tribute to his Welsh roots, his parents, and the Port Talbot cinema where he first discovered the movies.He admitted he never expected to sign a record deal at this stage of his life. “Living the life of total non-expectation, that’s when the surprises happen. If you expect too much, nothing really happens,” he said, adding that the deal was “beyond my belief.”Recalling his early ambitions, Anthony Hopkins said, “I mean, I can’t understand it at all. Well, that sounds a bit naive, but music has always been a part of my life from a very early age… So I went to the acting college, which was attached to the music college in Wales, and I thought, well, I’ll do it that way I get into music. But I became an actor instead.”
Anthony Hopkins on sobriety and future plans
The actor also spoke about his long battle with alcoholism, recalling how a drink-driving incident became a turning point in his life. He said recognising that he could have killed innocent people forced him to choose between life and death. Now sober for 50 years, Hopkins reflected on a generation of fellow British actors who once drank heavily, noting, “They’ve all gone now.”Looking ahead, Hopkins revealed he currently has three film projects in development. He is also determined to fulfil a lifelong dream of performing at New York’s Carnegie Hall. “I’m going to do it. Next year,” he told the host.