Fame and glory knocked on his door as a mature man in his early thirties, and, like everything around Anthony Hopkins, this rise to the top of the Hollywood firmament was filled with magic and mystery. A chance encounter with a woman and a novel on the London Underground would radically change the course of his life. And no, we are not talking about the script of any of his films, it is pure reality. The book in question was titled The Girl from Pretrovka and, curiously, it was the story on which her new film was based. The most skeptical would call it chance or chance, the most romantic luck or fate. The term is the least, the interesting thing is that this simple fact had monumental consequences because, among other things, it saved him from the jaws of alcoholism. (AP Photo; Richard Shotwell; GTRES) More This natural gentleman from Wales worked it out, and a lot, to get to the top. Based on tenacity, effort and, why not say it, also a certain dose of suffering, he built one of the most respectable and applauded acting careers on the film scene. âI felt unhappy, resentful, anything irritated me. He also drank more than he should. They gave me a lot of opportunities, but I bit the hand that fed me, âhe said in a 2019 interview with El PaĂs Semanal. The resounding success was not long in coming and that blame was forgotten for that forgotten book in a station in the London stop Leicester Square. It was the year 1973 when that unexpected appointment between the actor and the written work occurred. Hopkins, then 35, was going through the lowest point of his career. A heated discussion with the director of the London National Theater made him give up his starring role in Shakespeare’s classic Macbeth, one of his early works (according to Guide Posts). However, his talent had not gone unnoticed by the directors of the time and on the table a very appetizing script awaited him, that of The Girl from Pretovka, the story of an American reporter who falls in love with a Russian dancer, played by Goldie Hawn, whose very Caucasian physicist gave the role for the role. Before getting into the character, Hopkins decided to read the book and learn from the hand of its author George Feifer, all the ins and outs of this drama with hints of comedy. That day he went through all the bookstores there were and had in London but none had the novel (via Moviefone), it was out of print. Frustrated by the situation, he had no choice but to settle and go home empty-handed. It was then that the unexpected happened. As he traveled in the return carriage he realized that someone had forgotten a book in one of the seats. He carefully approached and, ta-ta chĂĄn, it was the novel he had been searching so hard for. Incredible, yes, true, too. But let’s go back to history because it is not wasted. The novel had notes on all sides, it was as if it belonged to someone who knew it a lot. The annotations were most interesting and helped the actor get into the shoes of Kostya, his character in the film, but that does not end there. The chain of coincidences continues. After this period of preparation the filming arrived and there an excited Hopkins would have the opportunity to meet the writer of this novel that he had devoured. During the meeting, the Oscar-winning actor would show him his best-kept treasure, that unique and unrepeatable copy of the book. “You will not believe this story …”, said the actor while showing him his jewel. Patidifuso was how the writer was when he saw the book. “That copy is mine,” he said shocked. It turns out that he had lost it two years ago and that he had written all those notes. What a face it must have been for both of them, with all the reason in the world. The film went through theaters without penalty or glory, but Hopkins shone with his character thanks to that book with special annotations and the best directors began to call him.Read moreBy then, he had worked in several films and hated the theater, claiming that it was very difficult to work with him “because he often had a hangover”. The Pretrovka girl was his first Hollywood production, and since then he knew that he had found the place where he wanted to return and continue making films, as he confessed in a 2018 conference as collected by The Hollywood Reporter. A few months after that positive experience, he decided to give a 360 degree turn to his life and leave bad habits behind. He stopped drinking in 1975 when at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous a woman asked him, “Why don’t you trust God?” and at that moment he affirms that his desire to drink is gone forever. “I think we are capable of so much,” he said at that conference with students. âFrom my own experience, I still can’t believe my life is what it is, because I should have died in Wales, drunk or something like that. […] We can take death or the best life we ââcould ever live. Nothing was an error. It was all the result of fate. âFrom then on, after playing a compelling leading role in Hollywood with the help of the book found by things of fate and the moment lived in AA, he would begin a golden stage in his life. The nineties were his glorious years with such relevant titles as The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won the Oscar, Howard’s End, The Remains of the Day, Legends of Passion, Nixon, The Mask of Zorro, and a long etc. A recent chat with his friend and partner Brad Pitt for Interview magazine recalled these dark years in his life. “I don’t know why I drank,” he told his colleague on tapes like Legends of Passion and Do You Know Joe Black? “Right now I look back and think, ‘It wasn’t bad, but I don’t want to do it again.’ So I caused harm and I apologize to people for doing what I did. It is part of being alive. You have to forget and just keep moving forward, âhe expressed to Pitt, who in torment also made him share his demons, his addictions and his stumbles. “What you do after a mistake is what really defines a person,” said Hopkins, who by age and experience knows well what he is talking about. The protagonist of Hitchcock and The Two Popes, where he plays Benedict XVI ( If he has done everything!) Adds 45 years without taking a drop of alcohol. His choice to be sober has been going well for him and to the tests we refer. With almost a hundred films behind her and a third marriage to the Colombian Stella Arroyave, who is preparing a documentary about her husband’s life, life smiles at her. She is 18 years younger than him and although she admits that it is difficult for her to keep up, she blames him for being another of the miracles that life has given her. âMy wife has turned my life around. I believe so! From top to bottom! â, He told XLS.Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Two Popes’ (Peter Mountain; courtesy of Netflix) MoreIt was a film meeting, it could not be otherwise in the case of Holpkins. They met at the antique store she ran in Los Angeles. âThe woman in the store was beautiful and she greeted me:â I know you. Can I give you a hug? â I looked at a piece of furniture and told him I liked it. Regalo I give it to him, âhe said. Nada Nothing of that, I will pay for it â, I answered. Before long she called me to say she had another piece that I might like. We started dating. ” At first he was tough, after two failed marriages he wanted independence, but Cupid won the battle.That’s the life and work of Hopkins, a succession of adventures and misadventures, ups and downs, smiles and tears, movies and some than another roast in the bedroom. The good thing is that it does not hide it and that is why it is among the best in the world. A full-fledged English sir to whom fate had a good time.More stories that may interest you:
