Anthony Hopkins Shares insights about His battle with drinking, Anger, Oscar wins and 50 years of Clean living

'How's the climate where you are?' inquires the acclaimed actor as our video call begins. Despite living in the Golden State for many years, elements of his Welsh background remain apparent in his unique, musical voice - perhaps a little hoarser than it once was. The night has fallen in the British capital but a bright, sunny morning in LA, and Hopkins appears equally bright in disposition and attire, wearing a colorful top. 'I came here 50 years ago. People asked: 'Are you {selling out|compromising your values?' I responded: 'No, I just like the climate and {to get a suntan|want some sunshine.' But I like Los Angeles. I've had a great life here.'

Recent Difficulties and Personal Loss

Life hasn't been completely wonderful recently, actually. In early this year, Hopkins' house in the coastal neighborhood was consumed by raging fires. 'It was quite a disaster,' he states, with surprisingly lighthearted tone. 'We're thankful that no one was hurt, and we rescued our pets and our small household {into the clear|to safety.' He wasn't there at the moment; he and his spouse were in the Middle Eastern country, where he was hosting a concert of his own music played by the prestigious musical ensemble. They're now in a temporary residence in the adjacent area of the upscale community. 'We lost all our possessions, but you reflect: 'Oh well, {at least we are alive|we still have our lives.' I feel sorry for the thousands of people who have been severely impacted. People who were way past the age to stop working, and had worked hard over the years and now … {nothing|have nothing left.'

Ongoing Work and Current Endeavors

The actor will be eighty-eight this December, but obviously doesn't consider himself past retirement age. As a two-time Oscar-winner, a British knight, a fixture of pop culture and one of the most revered actors living today, he has an embarrassment of laurels to be satisfied with, but there's still plenty on his schedule. He's just finished a film with the British director, for whom he has a recent appreciation - 'He's precise in what he {wants to see|expects to achieve' - and he's coming back to Britain soon, he mentions, to make a fresh film with the acclaimed director, then another one in his homeland.

Childhood Years and Personal Struggles

But recently Hopkins has also been reflecting, too - at his whole life. His new memoir is quite different from your typical actor's autobiography, partly because Hopkins is far from your typical luvvie - although he does cross paths with legendary figures such as Laurence Olivier, Peter O'Toole, the film legend and the Welsh star - but mainly because he's remarkably honest about his often troubled early life. When he describes his early years in the Welsh town of his birthplace, the sole male child of a baking business family, it seems like a completely different world. 'My parent had that approach: quit complaining, cease whining, you have no idea what you're saying, stand up straight, {get on with it|move forward!' His parent was also prone to melancholy and anxiety, Hopkins says. It was the war and post-war period; that's simply how things were.

Youthful Difficulties

According to his recollection, the young Hopkins appears as a bit of a loner and an oddball. He had few friends, was frequently bullied and refused to attend his own celebrations. He displayed so little promise at school, one educator told him he was 'completely hopeless. 'I was existing in fantasy, my imaginary realm, I guess,' he states. 'I couldn't understand anything mentally or scholastically and that drove me into a kind of loneliness and {resentment|bitterness.' He retreated behind a façade of defiance, 'a tough stance and a cold remoteness', and that became his identity. Maybe, in a sense, he was performing even then?

Professional Journey and Breakthrough Moments

A formative realization in terms of performance was watching the cinematic version of the Shakespeare play at his educational institution in the late forties, when he was 12. 'I was profoundly affected by my response,' he recalls. 'I don't know what it was about that, but it created such an impact in my mind, experiencing Shakespeare for the {first time|initial occasion.' He started learning lines from Hamlet and the Roman leader. His parents were astonished. (Many years afterward, his father, on his deathbed, asked Hopkins to recite Hamlet for him.)

Memory and Technique

Hopkins' memory is the foundation of his acting, he says. He studies his scripts numerous occasions, so each word is etched into his memory before he arrives for filming. It started as a protection mechanism when he was a beginning performer, but it's become his technique. 'That was my gift, truly: to understand the character so well that I had complete confidence. Once you know the script, you have a calmness to perform in practice, so you can truly listen to the fellow actor. The art of acting, I believe, is to be able to listen.'

Battle with Drinking

One area where he did find common ground - excessively so - was drinking. 'Drinking was a hereditary practice,' he says. It was a theatre tradition, too. This was the era of 'angry young men' exemplified by the playwright's Look Back in Anger (the actor had been riveted seeing Peter O'Toole's version in the fifties), and of famous, heavy-drinking 'troublemakers' like O'Toole, the British star, Richard Burton and the celebrated actor. Did he match that characterization?

'Absolutely, I did. I would not be trusted, and I would have conflicts and quarrel with, particularly, directors. Looking back, it's all paranoia. They were attempting to perform their work; I was striving to accomplish mine, but I couldn't take any … it wasn't just feedback, I couldn't take any authoritative bullying. So I'd {lash out|react violently.' He would often get into physical fights in bars, too.

Life-Changing Moment

The real wake-up call came in December 1975, in Los Angeles. He woke up one day to find his car gone, and called his agent to inform him. 'Nobody stole it,' his agent responded. 'We discovered you on the street.' Hopkins had driven throughout the night from the southwestern state to the luxurious neighborhood, about a significant distance, completely intoxicated. 'I was out of control, I was crazy, I couldn't remember most of the trip,' he admits. 'And that represents a dangerous path to live, because I had no self-regard. I might have killed an whole household … I knew I needed help, I {knew it was over|understood it had to end.'

The way he narrates it, a distinct inner voice in his mind asked him if he wanted to live or die. He answered: 'I choose life,' and the presence said, 'This chapter has ended. You can start living.' He went straight to the recovery program. Afterwards, 'I emerged on the road, late morning, 29 December 1975, and the world appeared transformed. Everything seemed sunnier, all things appeared increasingly … benign. No threat in the environment.'

Professional Achievements and Iconic Roles

By this stage the performer was residing and performing increasingly in the US, and in cinema. 'I just wanted some warmth, and I didn't want to be waiting about in uncomfortable costumes holding a spear for the rest of my life,' he jokes. It was his hero O'Toole who had first coaxed him on to a movie set, in the late sixties. He approached the actor's private space at the National one day and said, 'I'd like you to perform a test for me,' Hopkins says. 'He'd had a few jars, and we went to the pub afterwards.'

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