A philosophical Anthony Hopkins – Interview

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Anthony Hopkins, interview published in and Copyright of The Financial Times, published 22nd September 2020.

The greatest – and once angriest – actor of his generation is now also a painter, composer, writer and Insta-hero. He talks about the evolution of his current mellow mood. But perhaps most of all there’s been the inspirational and the philosophical Hopkins – calling out to the younger generation that, despite everything going on at the moment, they can make their dreams come true.

Back in July he posted this: “Congratulations to the class of 2020… I read somewhere, I can’t remember whether it was in the Old Testament, or I think it was a shaman, and the shaman said – there was a drought, cattle were dying, people were dying in the desert – and the shaman said, build the ditches… Dig the ditches and the rain will come.”

That post about the class of 2020, I was thinking how devastating it can be for a whole generation of young people starting out and suddenly their teacher is gone. I mean, what’s going to happen? So that’s where my idea came from, because the story of my life was to believe and visualise a powerful outcome. I act as if everything is possible. I act as if I believe. Even if sometimes, you know, you always have doubts, but when the doubts come, just push through and believe that it’s going to work. Act as if it is impossible to fail.”

In the past he’s said he’s not sure what he believes in from one day to the next (“God or Santa Claus or Tinker Bell”). Today, he seems to have resolved that whatever force there is, it comes from within. “I’ve survived all these years, despite my doubts and my past, I’m constantly surprised and I think it’s been down to a kind of – these are powerful words – but faith or belief in some kind of energy that we possess in us. I’m not a psychiatrist, I’m not a philosopher, I’m none of those things, but… it’s something that maybe I tapped into when I was a young kid. And I’m sure I believe it can happen with young kids today. Believe in it, believe and see yourself into a powerful future.

One painting, Ballet on the Moon, features a menagerie of animals, including a pink elephant with flirty eyelashes, gathered around an old man’s head, perhaps a reference to an outing he had with his grandfather to the circus in Port Talbot in 1947

«Ce message sur la promotion de 2020, je pensais à quel point cela peut être dévastateur pour toute une génération de jeunes débutants et soudainement leur professeur est parti. Je veux dire, que va-t-il se passer? C’est de là que vient mon idée, car l’histoire de ma vie était de croire et de visualiser un résultat puissant. J’agis comme si tout était possible. J’agis comme si je croyais. Même si parfois, vous savez, vous avez toujours des doutes, mais quand les doutes surgissent, il suffit de pousser et de croire que cela va marcher. Agissez comme s’il était impossible d’échouer. »

Dans le passé, il a dit qu’il n’était pas sûr de ce en quoi il croyait du jour au lendemain («Dieu ou le Père Noël ou la fée Clochette»). Aujourd’hui, il semble avoir résolu que quelle que soit la force qui existe, elle vient de l’intérieur. «J’ai survécu à toutes ces années, malgré mes doutes et mon passé, je suis constamment surpris et je pense que c’est dû à une sorte de – ce sont des mots puissants – mais la foi ou la croyance en une sorte d’énergie que nous possédons en nous. Je ne suis pas psychiatre, je ne suis pas philosophe, je ne suis rien de tout cela, mais… c’est quelque chose que j’ai peut-être exploité quand j’étais jeune. Et je suis sûr que je pense que cela peut arriver avec les jeunes enfants d’aujourd’hui. Croyez-y, croyez et voyez-vous dans un futur puissant.

Updated/maj. 03-10-2020

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