Anthony Hopkins Quotes On Life, Dreams, And Being A Loner

Sir Phillip Anthony Hopkins has been impressing audiences in theater, movies, and television since 1960. With two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and several other significant accolades, this Welsh actor is known for his set professionalism and convincing portrayals of serious and emotional characters. From Hannibal Lecter to Odin, Hopkins fully commits to each of his roles. Due to his talent and love for the arts, Anthony Hopkins quotes have inspired fans for more than six decades.

Even as a boy, Hopkins says he has always been interested in the arts and music. He comes from a working-class Welsh family and graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 1957. Like many actors of the time, Hopkins started his acting career in theater. While he was successful, he grew tired of repeating the same performance night after night, and he set his sights on film and television.

Hopkins’ first movie role, playing Richard the Lionheart in The Lion of Winter, also earned him his first BAFTA nomination. From there, the actor continued to take supporting and leading roles to build an incredibly successful career.

Throughout his time as an actor, Hopkins has been known for his impressive memory and commitment to his work. He’s revealed in interviews that to prepare for a role, he will read his lines hundreds of times until he can recite them without thinking. And when he’s finished with a scene, he simply discards the knowledge to make room for more. This technique has proved successful as he is currently the oldest person to win an Oscar for Best Actor and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1993 for his contributions to the arts.

Anthony Hopkins quotes

We hope you enjoy this collection of Anthony Hopkins quotes that span over several decades.

“I like the good life too much, I’m not good at going on stage night after night and on wet Wednesday afternoons.”
“I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka, and smoke a cigarette.”
“I’m always cast in these strange men… that’s not me, really.”
“People ask, ‘Should I call you Sir Hopkins?’ But I say, ‘No. Call me Tony,’ because it’s too much of a lift-up.”
“I am a bit of a solitary person – a solitary personality. I like being on my own. I don’t have any major friendships or relationships with people.”
“I always had a knack for improvisation. I can write down the notes I play, but never really had a proper academic musical background. I suppose I’m blessed and cursed by the fact I have that freedom.”
“We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It’s a death trap.”
“My philosophy is it’s none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am, and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.”
“I don’t have many friends; I’m very much a loner. As a child, I was very isolated, and I’ve never been really close to anyone.”
“My life turned out to be beyond my greatest dreams.”
“I was called ‘Dumbo,’ like the elephant, as a child because I couldn’t understand things at school.”
“Life’s too short to deal with other people’s insecurities.”
“I have no interest in Shakespeare and all that British nonsense… I just wanted to get famous and all the rest is hogwash.”
“I don’t have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don’t know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don’t know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don’t think you need all that stuff.”
“I’m married. My wife, Stella – a beautiful woman. She’s brought a lot of peace to my life, a lot of wisdom.”
“My weak spot is laziness. Oh, I have a lot of weak spots: cookies, croissants.”
“I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen.”
“We all dream. We dream vividly, depending on our nature. Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have a religion or we’re atheist.”
“I have dual citizenship; it just so happens I live in America. I would like to go back to Wales. I’m obsessed with my childhood, and at least three times a week dream I am back there.”
“I love life because what more is there?”
“I’ve felt like an outsider all my life. It comes from my mother, who always felt like an outsider in my father’s family. She was a powerful woman, and she motivated my father.”
“I spent two years in the military service, then I trudged around in repertory for quite a while. I somehow wound up at the National Theatre, though, and then I was definitely on my way.”
“I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The dark side of one’s nature. Have fun with it and you know, is to accept everything about ourselves.”
“The art of acting is not to act. Once you show them more, what you show them, in fact, is bad acting.”
“Beware the tyranny of the weak. They just suck you dry.”
“I don’t know what acting is, but I enjoy it.”
“I don’t know why they gave me a knighthood – though it’s very nice of them – I only ever use the title in the U.S. The Americans insist on it and get offended if I don’t.”
“Once you begin to fall off the track and believe you breathe different air to everyone else, you’re doomed; you’re finished.”
“I remember coming to New York in 1974 to do a play here called ‘Equis.’ And I remember the first morning getting up and walking around the streets, and I thought, ‘I’m home.’ I felt really at peace here.”
“I’m interested in the dream and subconscious mind, the peculiar dream-like quality of our lives, sometimes nightmare quality of our lives.”
“I don’t like freeloaders; I don’t like people who are negative.”
“I came here in 1974 to do a play, and then I went to L.A. I really like living in America. I feel more at home here than anywhere else.”
“I’ve been composing music all my life and if I’d been clever enough at school I would like to have gone to music college.”
“I was bullied as a boy – lots of kids are, but hopefully, most of us get on with our lives and grow up.”
“I was lousy in school. Real screwed-up. A moron. I was antisocial and didn’t bother with the other kids. A really bad student. I didn’t have any brains. I didn’t know what I was doing there. That’s why I became an actor.”
“The knighthood was a tremendous honour, I don’t dismiss it. But I feel embarrassed by the flowery, theatrical stuff that goes with being an actor.”
“I know that the arts are important. I’m not denying that, but I can’t associate myself with all the claptrap that goes on around it.”
“Every time I try to retire, or even think of retiring from acting, my agent comes up with a script.”

Anthony Hopkins Quotes On Life, Dreams, And Being A Loner

We hope you enjoy this collection of Anthony Hopkins quotes that span over several decades.

“I like the good life too much, I’m not good at going on stage night after night and on wet Wednesday afternoons.”

“I have a punishing workout regimen. Every day I do 3 minutes on a treadmill, then I lie down, drink a glass of vodka, and smoke a cigarette.”

“I’m always cast in these strange men… that’s not me, really.”

“People ask, ‘Should I call you Sir Hopkins?’ But I say, ‘No. Call me Tony,’ because it’s too much of a lift-up.”

“I am a bit of a solitary person – a solitary personality. I like being on my own. I don’t have any major friendships or relationships with people.”

“I always had a knack for improvisation. I can write down the notes I play, but never really had a proper academic musical background. I suppose I’m blessed and cursed by the fact I have that freedom.”

“We are dying from overthinking. We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything. Think. Think. Think. You can never trust the human mind anyway. It’s a death trap.”

“My philosophy is it’s none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am, and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.”

“I don’t have many friends; I’m very much a loner. As a child, I was very isolated, and I’ve never been really close to anyone.”

“My life turned out to be beyond my greatest dreams.”

“I was called ‘Dumbo,’ like the elephant, as a child because I couldn’t understand things at school.”

“Life’s too short to deal with other people’s insecurities.”

“I have no interest in Shakespeare and all that British nonsense… I just wanted to get famous and all the rest is hogwash.”

“I don’t have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don’t know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don’t know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don’t think you need all that stuff.”

“I’m married. My wife, Stella – a beautiful woman. She’s brought a lot of peace to my life, a lot of wisdom.”

“My weak spot is laziness. Oh, I have a lot of weak spots: cookies, croissants.”

“I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen.”

“We all dream. We dream vividly, depending on our nature. Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have a religion or we’re atheist.”

“I have dual citizenship; it just so happens I live in America. I would like to go back to Wales. I’m obsessed with my childhood, and at least three times a week dream I am back there.”

“I love life because what more is there?”

“I’ve felt like an outsider all my life. It comes from my mother, who always felt like an outsider in my father’s family. She was a powerful woman, and she motivated my father.”

“I spent two years in the military service, then I trudged around in repertory for quite a while. I somehow wound up at the National Theatre, though, and then I was definitely on my way.”

“I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself, and that means not the beast but the shadow. The dark side of one’s nature. Have fun with it and you know, is to accept everything about ourselves.”

“The art of acting is not to act. Once you show them more, what you show them, in fact, is bad acting.”

“Beware the tyranny of the weak. They just suck you dry.”

“I don’t know what acting is, but I enjoy it.”

“I don’t know why they gave me a knighthood – though it’s very nice of them – I only ever use the title in the U.S. The Americans insist on it and get offended if I don’t.”

“Once you begin to fall off the track and believe you breathe different air to everyone else, you’re doomed; you’re finished.”

“I remember coming to New York in 1974 to do a play here called ‘Equis.’ And I remember the first morning getting up and walking around the streets, and I thought, ‘I’m home.’ I felt really at peace here.”

“I’m interested in the dream and subconscious mind, the peculiar dream-like quality of our lives, sometimes nightmare quality of our lives.”

“I don’t like freeloaders; I don’t like people who are negative.”

“I came here in 1974 to do a play, and then I went to L.A. I really like living in America. I feel more at home here than anywhere else.”

“I’ve been composing music all my life and if I’d been clever enough at school I would like to have gone to music college.”

“I was bullied as a boy – lots of kids are, but hopefully, most of us get on with our lives and grow up.”

“I was lousy in school. Real screwed-up. A moron. I was antisocial and didn’t bother with the other kids. A really bad student. I didn’t have any brains. I didn’t know what I was doing there. That’s why I became an actor.”

“The knighthood was a tremendous honour, I don’t dismiss it. But I feel embarrassed by the flowery, theatrical stuff that goes with being an actor.”

“I know that the arts are important. I’m not denying that, but I can’t associate myself with all the claptrap that goes on around it.”

“Every time I try to retire, or even think of retiring from acting, my agent comes up with a script.”

We hope you enjoyed this collection of Anthony Hopkins quotes. If you know someone else who is a fan of this living legend, don’t forget to share!

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