Anthony Hopkins Shares insights about His battle with drinking, Anger, Academy Awards and Five Decades of Clean living

'How's the climate where you are?' asks the acclaimed actor as our video call begins. Although he has resided in California for decades, elements of his Welsh background remain apparent in his unique, musical voice - perhaps slightly rougher than in his younger days. The night has fallen in the British capital but the sun is shining in LA, and the actor appears equally bright in disposition and clothing, sporting a colorful top. 'I came here 50 years ago. Somebody said: '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 appreciate Los Angeles. I've had a wonderful life here.'

Recent Challenges and Personal Loss

It hasn't been completely wonderful lately, in truth. In January this year, the actor's home in Pacific Palisades was consumed by wildfires. 'It was a bit of a calamity,' he states, with surprisingly lighthearted tone. 'We're thankful that everyone survived, and we rescued our pets and our little family {into the clear|to safety.' He had been away at the time; he and his wife, Stella were in Saudi Arabia, where he was hosting a concert of his personal compositions played by the prestigious musical ensemble. They're now in a rented house in the adjacent area of the upscale community. 'We lost all our possessions, but you think: 'Oh well, {at least we are alive|we still have our lives.' I have sympathy for the many individuals who have been really affected. People who were way past retirement age, and had worked hard over the years and now … {nothing|have nothing left.'

Ongoing Work and Recent Projects

The actor will be 88 this December, but clearly doesn't consider himself past retirement age. As a two-time Oscar-winner, a British knight, a prominent cultural figure 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 movie with the British director, for whom he has a recent appreciation - 'He's exacting in what he {wants to see|expects to achieve' - and he's returning to the UK soon, he says, to produce a fresh film with Richard Eyre, then another one in his homeland.

Early Life and Personal Struggles

However lately the performer has also been looking back, 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 - even if he does cross paths with legendary figures such as the theatrical icon, Peter O'Toole, the film legend and the Welsh star - but mainly because he's surprisingly upfront about his difficult younger years. When he describes his childhood in the Welsh town of his birthplace, the only son of a baking business family, it seems like a different planet. 'My parent had that approach: stop whining, cease whining, you don't know what you're talking about, maintain good posture, {get on with it|move forward!' His father was also susceptible to depression and anxiety, the actor explains. It was wartime and postwar Britain; life was just like that.

Childhood Challenges

By his own account, the youthful Anthony appears as a somewhat solitary and an eccentric. He had limited companions, was often targeted and refused to attend his own birthday parties. He displayed so little promise at school, one teacher told him he was 'a brainless carthorse. 'I was existing in fantasy, my imaginary realm, I suppose,' he states. 'I couldn't comprehend anything mentally or scholastically and that drove me into a form of isolation and {resentment|bitterness.' He retreated behind a mask of insolence, 'a hardened attitude and a distant demeanor', and that became his identity. Maybe, in a way, he was performing even then?

Professional Journey and Breakthrough Moments

An early epiphany in terms of acting was watching Olivier's film adaptation of the Shakespeare play at his educational institution in the late forties, when he was 12. 'I was profoundly affected by my reaction,' he recalls. 'I don't know what it was about that, but it made such a punch in my head, experiencing Shakespeare for the {first time|initial occasion.' He started memorising speeches from the Danish prince and Julius Caesar. His parents were amazed. (Decades later, his father, on his deathbed, asked Hopkins to recite the famous soliloquy for him.)

Memory and Technique

The actor's recall is the foundation of his acting, he explains. He reads his scripts numerous occasions, so each word is etched into his memory before he turns up on set. It began as a protection mechanism when he was a young actor, but it's become his technique. 'That was my gift, really: to know the part so well that I had complete confidence. Once you know the script, you have a calmness to go on stage in practice, so you can hear the fellow actor. The art of acting, I believe, is to be able to listen.'

Battle with Drinking

A domain in which he did find common ground - excessively so - was drinking. 'Drinking was a family tradition,' he notes. It was a theatre tradition, too. This was the era of 'angry young men' epitomised by the playwright's the famous work (Hopkins had been riveted seeing Peter O'Toole's version in the fifties), and of famous, heavy-drinking 'hell-raisers' like the Irish actor, the British star, the Welsh performer and the celebrated actor. Did he match that characterization?

'Absolutely, I did. I would not be trusted, and I would have fights and argue with, especially, directors. In retrospect, it's completely irrational. They were trying to do their work; I was striving to accomplish mine, but I couldn't accept … it wasn't criticism, I couldn't take any dominant behavior. So I'd {lash out|react violently.' He would often get into physical fights in pubs, too.

Life-Changing Moment

The definitive moment of clarity occurred in December 1975, in Los Angeles. He awakened one morning to find his vehicle missing, and called his representative to tell him. 'Nobody stole it,' his agent responded. 'We found you on the road.' The actor had traveled throughout the night from Arizona to the luxurious neighborhood, about 500 miles, 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 could have taken out an entire family … I knew I needed help, I {knew it was over|understood it had to end.'

As he describes the experience, a distinct inner voice in his mind inquired if he wanted to live or die. He answered: 'I want to live,' and the voice declared, 'It's all over now. You can begin truly existing.' He went immediately to the recovery program. Afterwards, 'I got out on the road, 11am, 29 December 1975, and the world appeared transformed. Everything seemed sunnier, everything seemed more … benign. No threat in the air.'

Professional Achievements and Iconic Roles

At this point Hopkins was living and working increasingly in the US, and in film. 'I just wanted some sunshine, and I had no interest in waiting about in wrinkled tights holding a spear for the remainder of my career,' he quips. It was his idol the legendary actor who had initially persuaded him on to a movie set, in the late sixties. He knocked on the actor's private space at the National one day and announced, 'I'd like you to perform a screen test for me,' the younger actor recalls. 'He'd had a few jars, and we went to the pub later.'

The Iconic Character

Such was the societal impact of the psychological thriller that on Academy Awards ceremony {1992