Sir Tony Hopkins

[stuart.uk]

When he recently recieved a Bafta Fellowship, Richard Attenbourgh discribed Tony Hopkins as the greatest actor of his generation. i don't know if that's true, i can think of one or two American actors, who can stake a claim on that. however, i'd like to pay my own tribute to him, though i can't comment on all is work as i haven't seen it all.

Tony decided in the early 50s he wanted to become an actor when he saw and fell in love with the image of Claire Bloom in Chaplin's Limelight, though by the time they worked together in A Dolls House, his lust for her had gone, but no doubt he still enjoyed the experience of working with her..

Some of his early work, possibly not well known in America are worth noting. he played future Prime Minister and close pal of Winstone Churchill, David Llyod George in Young Winstone. He coached horsewoman Tamun O'Neal to a team Gold Medal in International Velvet.

Tony was the first Siegfried Farnon in the feature film All Creatures Great And Small, running a vet's practice with assistant Simon Ward's James Herriot (Colin Blakely played Farnon in a sequal and Robert Hardy in a massively successful long running tv series)

he played a brilliant surgeon oppisite Hannah Gordon, who befriend's severly deformed John Hurt in the acclaimed The Elephant Man. I thought 84 Charing Cross Road was a lovely film where, as a worker in a bookshop he is a pen pal of screen writer Anne Bacroft, while happilly married to Judi Dench

I think it's fair to say though that superstardom occurred late in his career playing serial killer Doctor Hanibal Lector in Silence Of The Lambs with FBI agent Jodie Foster. he appeared later in the sequal Hannibal.

The true story Shadowlands is one of the screens greatest ever love stories between writers CS Lewis and Debra Wingers Joy Gresham. i haven't seen apart from a couple of clips of Nixon, but he looks very convincing as the disgraced President. I also enjoyed him as a middle aged Zorro in The Mask Of Zorro

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm probably going to sound contraversial here but there are quite a few actors of Anthony Hopkins generation I would rather watch. I find him a little overrated these days. I prefer some of his earlier work to his later work.

[stuart.uk]

I wanted to mention his earlier work because i think that can be overlooked. films like Young Winston and All Creatures Great And Small give me as much pleasure as his so called pk roles

[charliechaplinfan]

My favorite British actor of that generation is John Hurt and I prefer both Peter O'toole and Michael Caine, again his earlier work to Anthony Hopkins.

[Mr. Arkadin]

Hey CharlieChaplin, What did you think of Hurt in The Shout (1978)?

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm sorry to say I've never seen it. In fact I've not seen him in a massive amount of films but what I have seen him in, I've always been impressed. These are my favorites I,Claudius, 10 Rillington Place, The Elephant Man (I can appreciate the great performance but the film makes me uncomfortable, too sad), 1984 and Scandal. Most modern actors make me turn over the channel but he is someone I have a great deal of time for. If The Shout comes on TV I'll be sure to record it.