Home / Authors / Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins Quotes

Actor

Anthony Hopkins is a renowned British actor, born on December 31, 1937, in Wales. Known for his exceptional acting skills and versatile character portrayals, Hopkins has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and won the Best Actor for 'The Silence of the Lambs' in 1993.

Filter quotes by topic

All Hopkins Actors Ifs Thinking Knows People Acting Wells Way I Can Play Want Years Believe Young Lines Littles My Own Trying Bits

Famous Anthony Hopkins Quotes

“I said once that if they gave me enough money to read the phone book, I'd do it. I live in a total state of non-expectation. I don't expect things, and I keep my expectations very low about everything.”

Ifs Said Book States Enough Lows Expectations Phones

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“You have to have humor. If you don't have humor and you take yourself seriously, you're dead in the water. You have to be jostled. I love it. You've gotta have a laugh. It's better than working for a living.”

Ifs Water Laughing Have A Laugh Working For A Living

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I like to work. I don't like to disrupt my equilibrium. I don't like to change my head. I'd rather be a third-rate actor. It's a job, and I'm dedicated in my way. I enjoy it. I'm serious about it. But if it doesn't come off, I'm not going to die.”

Ifs Way Jobs Dies Actors Enjoy Serious Thirds Rate My Way Dedicated Equilibrium

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you’re an alcoholic or a drug addict, we flirt with death. We pull ourselves to the brink of destruction and if we’re lucky we pull ourselves back. We all have that in us.”

Ifs Drug Lucky Destruction Flirting Addict Alcoholics Drug Addict

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I never make conscious decisions. If my agent says to me, "It's a good script," I'll do it. I don't plan. I've got a lot of things to do. I'm at the roulette table and my luck seems to be running at the moment. I might as well stay there until it runs out.”

Ifs Wells Moments Seems Might Running Decision Plans Conscious Tables Luck Scripts Agents Things To Do Roulette

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you're in a successful play and the play is working well - I mean successful because the audiences like it, the audiences respond well - it's a pleasure.”

Ifs Wells Mean Play Pleasure Audience Successful

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I don't know what acting is, but I enjoy it. I think we ask too many questions of ourselves. We make too much importance of stuff. But I do say to actors when I have taught in classes, or when I sometimes do a talk to a group. I'll say, “If I never acted again, the world wouldn't stop, nor would it stop if I didn't stop acting. That's how important it is. I know it [seems] important when you're young. But I say, “Lighten up. Don't take it all so seriously.” All the gurus and teachers will take your money and run.”

Ifs Thinking Knows World Important Sometimes Seems Running Young Actors Asks Stuff Enjoy Acting Class Too Much Teacher Groups Taught Importance Guru

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“There's no truth in acting, it's all a trick, because you go on stage in front of sets, you're on film - it's all a trick. I'm making it sound very - I really am demystifying it, but what I try to do, what I do, and I hope effectively, is to create a reality as if it is happening now, that you're fishing for words out of the air.”

Ifs Trying Reality Film Sound Acting Air Stage Fronts Goes On Happenings Tricks Fishing

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“Some nights you might go through an entire performance and not feel a thing, and the audience may have a much better time, 'cause if you're enjoying yourself on stage too much, they're having a terrible time because they can't hear you. And if you're a woman your mascara's running.”

Ifs Feels May Might Running Night Causes Enjoy Audience Too Much Stage Terrible Performances Mascara Terrible Times

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“Acting is a creative process, and directing and music. I think creative people - and I take myself as a creative person and it doesn't mean you have to be an actor, a musician, or a painter - but I think if you are in a creative profession or a creative business you do have a heightened awareness.”

People Ifs Thinking Mean Persons Actors Process Acting Creative Awareness Musician Profession Painter Creative Process Creative People Creative Person Creative Business

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I don't have any expectations about my films. If they're good, they're good - if they're not, they're not. About 10 years ago, I remember going to see one of my movies - I can't even remember which one now - and everyone was jumping up and down, getting excited, saying what a great film it was going to be. We all went in and watched it, and it was the slowest movie I've ever seen. The next day, the reviews were terrible and half the studio was fired.”

Ifs Years I Can Remember Film Next Half Terrible Expectations Years Ago Studios Excited Reviews Next Day Jumping Up And Down Great Film

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I am young! Being creative and keeping your brain occupied is very sensible because if you don't you die, slowly.”

Ifs Young Dies Brain Creative Sensible Be Creative

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I enjoy painting. I don't know if I'm good at it, but I paint. I paint very quickly.”

Ifs Knows Enjoy Painting Paint

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I know how to be strong. I know how to be ruthless. It's part of my nature. I wouldn't be an actor if I wasn't.”

Ifs Knows Actors Strong Know How Ruthless

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“When you're young, you're very insecure. And if I could learn, if I could revisit my own past I could say to myself, don't think too much, just get on and do it.”

Ifs Thinking Past Young My Own Too Much If I Could Insecure

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“That's what happens if you don't address the darkness in you. You become repressed and depressed and suicidal.”

Ifs Happens Darkness Addresses Suicidal Repressed

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“Why love, if losing hurts so much? I have no answers anymore: only the life I have lived... The pain now is part of the happiness then.”

Ifs Love Pain Hurt Answers Losing Greatest Love Hopkins Love Pain Love And Pain Hurt So Much Losing Everything Happiness Now Love Is Pain It Still Hurts

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I'm one of the slowest drivers on the road. I mosey along. If you're doing anything too fast, including living life too fast, that creates sudden death. If I have to be somewhere on time, I make sure I leave early enough.”

Ifs Enough Including Live Life Drivers Hopkins Sudden Death

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“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.”

Ifs Enough School Gone College Clever Composing Hopkins Composing Music

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“People forget that Mozart wrote for commissions. There's a thing in psychology where they think if it's popular, it can't be serious.”

People Ifs Thinking Forget Psychology Serious

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you do things, whether it's acting or music or painting, do it without fear - that's my philosophy. Because nobody can arrest you and put you in jail if you paint badly, so there's nothing to lose.”

Ifs Philosophy Loses Acting Painting Paint Jail Nothing To Lose

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I can't stand directors who try to micro-manage everything. When it happens these days I just walk off set, saying if they don't like the way I'm doing it they can get someone else.”

Ifs Way Trying I Can Happens Walks Directors Manage These Days

Author:Anthony Hopkins

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

Ifs Knows Use Nice Titles Offended Very Nice Knighthood

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I know that some actors and directors like to have intensity on set. I don't, particularly. Certainly, if they want that, that's fine, but I can't work like that.”

Ifs Knows Want I Can Actors Fine Directors Intensity

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“I've had no contact with my daughter for years. That's her choice. Anyway, you move on. If people don't want to bother with me, fine. You know, God bless them, and move on.”

People Ifs Knows Want Years Moving Choices Fine Daughter Contact Bother My Daughter Bless Knowing God God Bless

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If I spent all my time criticising myself, I wouldn't be able to function. There are actors who theorise till the cows come home. I haven't the patience for them. It's maybe shallow, but that's why I'll never be part of the acting set.”

Ifs Home Able Actors Acting Havens Function My Time Coming Home Cows Shallow

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“Certainty is the enemy of mankind. If you're certain about everything, you have the Inquisition, you have Nazis and you have - that certainty is something to be guarded about.”

Ifs Certain Enemy Mankind Certainty Nazi Guarded Inquisition

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you have high expectations you're going to get resentments and all kinds of tension.”

Ifs Kind Expectations All Kinds Tension Resentment High Expectations

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“There's a thing that if you - somebody in faith is always troubled by doubt, and somebody by doubt is always wanted by faith. So it's a kind of paradox.”

Ifs Kind Wanted Doubt Paradox

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“As a Welshman that can't sing, I never feel more proud to be Welsh than when I hear the Treorchy Male Choir - the Master Choir of them all. If I could sing I would apply for membership myself.”

Ifs Feels Masters Proud Males If I Could Choir Membership Welsh

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“You relax within the verse. You realize the structure of the verse and relax into it. It's like swimming. Or riding a bike. You can't make it sound real if you are thinking it through as you go. You can't think through Shakespeare, you have to speak it. And listen to the rhythm of it and then it takes you over. And to make it sound real you speak as if you believe it. Don't act it. Just be it.”

Ifs Thinking Believe Real Speak Sound Realizing Structure Rhythm Relax Swimming Riding Verses Bike If You Believe Real You

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you don't follow through on your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable.”

Ifs Wells Dream Might Vision Your Dreams Live By Vegetables Follow Through

Author:Anthony Hopkins

“If you don't go when you want to go, when you do go, you'll find you've gone.”

Ifs Want Gone Meaningful

Author:Anthony Hopkins

About the Author

Born: December 31, 1937
Known for: Actor
Quotes: 240

Related Topics

Hopkins Actors Ifs Thinking Knows People Acting Wells Way I Can Play Want Years Believe Young Lines Littles My Own Trying Bits

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Similar Authors

Kristen StewartBrowse related quotes
Morgan FreemanBrowse related quotes
Michael CaineBrowse related quotes
Christopher WalkenBrowse related quotes
Meryl StreepBrowse related quotes
Clint EastwoodBrowse related quotes
Jack NicholsonBrowse related quotes
Michael ShurtleffBrowse related quotes
Gerard Manley HopkinsBrowse related quotes
George ClooneyBrowse related quotes