20 films and one TV series with the brilliant Anthony Hopkins

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This legendary actor played Hannibal Lecter, Van Helsing and Odin.

1. Lion in winter

• Great Britain, 1968.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 134 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The end of the XII century, the aging king of England Henry II, at Christmas, gathers all those close to him to announce the name of the heir to the throne. Of course, this event engenders rivalry between sons. In addition, the king's wife, his mistress and the rest of the entourage weave intrigues.

In this film, Anthony Hopkins played Richard the Lionheart, Henry's eldest son. This is the first major work of an actor in cinema. And immediately - an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

2. Magic

• USA, 1978.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Charles Withers, nicknamed Corky (Anthony Hopkins), succeeds by showing a ventriloquist doll number Fats. When his agent is ready to sign a contract for his own TV show, Corky escapes, as he is afraid to admit that he considers Fats alive and sometimes talks to him.

Having settled in a quiet town, he begins to meet with his school friend, which causes jealousy of both her husband and the doll. Everything is aggravated when Corky's agent arrives there: the embittered Fats begins to kill people.

3. The elephant man

• USA, UK, 1980.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

John Merrick's body has been mutilated since birth, and he lives in a booth. However, everything changes when a young surgeon decides to buy Merrick out of purely scientific interest. It soon becomes clear that behind the ugly appearance is an intelligent and kind person.

David Lynch took the story of a real person as a basis and turned it into a stunning emotional drama. Of course, everything here is based on acting. Hopkins as Dr. Treves and John Hurt as Merrick featured one of the best on-screen duos.

4. Charing Cross Road, 84

• UK, USA, 1987.
• Drama, melodrama, biography.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Helen Hanff (Anne Bancroft) is a writer from New York. She is fond of collecting old books, looking for them in stores and even in newspapers. One day she sees an advertisement for the sale of a rare edition, responds to it, but finds out that the seller (Anthony Hopkins) lives in London. From this moment, their correspondence begins, which eventually develops into a novel 20 years long. True, everything will happen only on paper, they will never see each other.

5. Silence of the Lambs

• USA, 1991.
• Thriller.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

FBI agent Clarissa Starling is tasked with meeting the maniac Hannibal Lecter, who is serving a sentence in prison. He is ready to help her in search of another maniac who has already committed a series of murders. But Hannibal sets a condition - quid pro quo. The hero tells Clarissa the facts about the maniac, and she shares the details of her life.

This picture made Hopkins a real star. Strictly speaking, he had only 16 minutes of screen time for the entire film, but they were enough to win the Oscar. After all, it was the image of Lecter that made the greatest impression on the audience. In preparation for filming, the actor visited real courts and was in prisons for dangerous criminals.

The film uses a technique rare for cinematography - during his monologues, Lecter looks directly into the camera. And, besides, he doesn't blink (Hopkins borrowed this from interviews with Charles Manson). This approach makes an eerie and almost hypnotic impression on the viewer.

The actor returned to the image of Hannibal Lecter several times. Still, the first film is rightfully considered the best.

6. Howards End

• UK, Japan, USA, 1992.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 142 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The plot tells about the intertwining of the destinies of three families from different classes in England at the beginning of the 20th century. The head of the wealthy, but ossified in their views, the Wilcox family (Anthony Hopkins) starts an affair with a girl from the bourgeois Schlegel family (Emma Thompson). Her family, in turn, are friends with poor Leonard Bast (Samuel West) and his wife. And then the members of the three families constantly collide with each other, meet and part, love and hate.

7. Dracula

Bram Stoker's Dracula

• USA, 1992.
• Horror.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Real estate agent Jonathan Harker travels to Transylvania to see Count Dracula. Seeing a photograph of Harker's fiancée Mina, the Count decides that she is the embodiment of his wife who committed suicide. Dracula goes to London, wanting to get a girl, because in fact he is a vampire who once denied God.

Hopkins got the role of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing in this film. He first begins to suspect a vampire in Dracula and enters into a confrontation with evil.

8. At the end of the day

• UK, USA, 1993.
• Melodrama.
• Duration: 134 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

Stevens (Anthony Hopkins) has worked as a butler all his life, believing that the only purpose of his life is to serve his master. And only at the end of his days does he find true love for the first time. He has an affair with a new housekeeper (Emma Thompson). And neither duty nor tradition can hinder sincere feelings.

It is interesting that the work on this film is in many ways repeating the history of the creation of Howards End: director James Ivory is filming the famous classic book. Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson are once again playing a couple with a rocky relationship. But these actors really look as natural as possible together, forcing the viewer to believe in the sincerity of their feelings. No wonder the actor received another Oscar nomination for this film.

9. Land of Shadows

• UK, 1993.
• Drama, melodrama, biography.
• Duration: 131 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The film tells about the real life of the famous Clive Staples Lewis - professor at Magdalene College, Oxford University and author of the series of books "The Chronicles of Narnia". The plot focuses on the story of his love for Joy Gresham. Their married life did not last long, as the woman soon died of cancer.

This is one of the many biographical films in which Hopkins has played. Although he has a recognizable appearance and is often not very similar to the prototypes of his characters, acting skills and the ability to vividly convey completely different characters makes you forget about all the differences.

10. Legends of Autumn

• USA, 1994.
• Drama, military.
• Duration: 133 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

An epic drama dedicated to the Ludlow family. Retired Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) lives with his wife and three sons. Soon, all the children go to the First World War, one of them dies, and after that his brothers cannot find their place in life.

11. Nixon

• USA, 1995.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 192 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

US President Richard Nixon made history. But not because of any special achievements as head of state. He is the only American president who had to step down early to avoid impeachment.

Director Oliver Stone has directed several films about various world leaders. Some of them were fictional, others were documentary. For the role of the most controversial president, he chose Hopkins. After all, it was this actor who was able to show Nixon, so unloved by the Americans, not as a caricature, but as a real person with convictions, merits and demerits. And that again earned him an Oscar nomination.

12. Live life with Picasso

• USA, 1996.
• Drama, melodrama, biography.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

Young Françoise Gilot meets Pablo Picasso in Paris during the Nazi occupation. He teaches the girl to paint, and soon Françoise becomes his mistress, and then gives birth to two children. However, Picasso continues his love affairs, meeting Olga Khokhlova, Dora Maar and other women.

And again a biopic. In order to convey all the facets of Pablo Picasso's personality on the screen, a lot of talent is needed. This is both a great artist and a real macho, and sometimes just an unpleasant person. Of course, only Hopkins could be entrusted with such a complex role.

13. On the edge

• USA, 1997.
• Adventure, drama, thriller.
• Duration: 117 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Elderly billionaire Charles Morse flies with photographer Robert Green and his assistant to Alaska for filming. The plane crashes, and the heroes find themselves in wild forests far from civilization. Charles calls on all knowledge and erudition to help him to save himself and others. But then it suddenly turns out that Robert is his wife's lover.

Hopkins is not only good for dramatic roles. He regularly appears in various action films and other action games. For example, in this film, his character regularly saves the others.

14. Mask of Zorro

• USA, 1998.
• Adventure, action, comedy.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

Diego de la Vega was once a masked avenger and everyone called him Zorro. But the hero spent many years in prison and has grown old. However, he still has to take revenge on the old enemy. Then Diego finds himself a successor - the young Alejandro Murietu, whom he decides to teach everything that he can himself.

The authors of the next version of Zorro approached the plot outside the box: there are two heroes at once. The aged Diego is played by Hopkins, and his young successor is played by Antonio Banderas.

15. Meet Joe Black

• USA, 1998.
• Mysticism, melodrama.
• Duration: 178 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Once the angel of death decided to take a vacation and took over the body of the deceased young man. Under the name Joe Black, he went to the elderly William Parrish to propose a deal. The man must show Joe the world of the living in exchange for a delay in death. But the angel of death took on the image of Parrish's beloved daughter.

Hopkins and Brad Pitt have already starred together in Legends of the Fall. However, it is in this almost three-hour picture that the real chemistry between their characters is felt.

16. Titus - ruler of Rome

• USA, UK, Italy, 1999.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 162 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The military leader Titus Andronicus returns to Rome victorious. He executes the Goth prisoners, including the son of Queen Tamora. Then she vows to take revenge on the commander. Soon Tamora marries Emperor Saturninus and tries to destroy Titus.

The authors of this film took an unconventional approach to retelling the classic tragedy of William Shakespeare. Historical scenery is interspersed with modern technology and costumes. But in the first place - Anthony Hopkins, who embodied the real madness and cruelty on the screen.

17. Fastest Indian

The World's Fastest Indian

• USA, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, 2005.
• Drama, biography, sports.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

New Zealander Bert Monroe (Anthony Hopkins) has decided to set an all-time record in streamlined motorcycle racing. He spent many years improving the transport itself, and then he had to solve many other issues. Indeed, at the time of the races, Bert was already many years old, and no one believed that he was still capable of such records.

18. Fracture

• USA, Germany, 2007.
• Thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Ted Crawford killed his wife with a shot in the head. He waited for the police to arrive and soon wrote a confession. However, at the trial, the hero behaves very self-confidently and almost proves that he is innocent, because the examination confirms that they did not shoot from the pistol, and his wife's lover took the testimony from him.

A separate talent of the actor is to play negative characters well. Hopkins can really be hated in this movie. After all, he plays a killer who constantly uses other people's emotions and loopholes in the law to avoid punishment.

19. Thor

• USA, 2011.
• Action, science fiction, adventure.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The thunder god Thor was guilty before Father Odin, and he drove him out of Asgard to earth. Now Thor has to prove that he is worthy to be a god and wear Mjolnir, protecting people from invasion.

Anthony Hopkins also got into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He played the wise god Odin in three parts of "Thor". But most likely, the actor will no longer return to this image.

20. Hitchcock

• USA, 2012.
• Drama, biography.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Alfred Hitchcock has already made a name for himself by creating paintings with an eerie atmosphere of obscurity. But he decided to change his style and took up the black-and-white film "Psycho", having put in it, among other things, a lot of his own fears and experiences.

For this role, Hopkins still got a make-up that changed him almost beyond recognition. This is to be expected, because Hitchcock's profile is known to everyone who has watched his films. But the choice of the actor for the role is still very successful: the legend plays the legend.

Bonus: the series "Westworld"

• USA, 2016.
• Science fiction, drama, thriller.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 8.

In the Wild West World amusement park, androids indistinguishable from humans fulfill any whims of visitors and attract them to various quests. After each death, robots have their memory erased. However, some still have residual memories.

Anthony Hopkins played here the creator of the park - a scientist completely absorbed in his work, for whom an interest in science is sometimes more important than human emotions.