Anthony Hopkins was born Philip Anthony Hopkins in Port Talbot in Wales on the 31 December 1937. His father, Richard Arthur Hopkins worked as a baker. Hopkins mother Muriel Anne Yeats was a distant relation to the famous Irish poet W. B. Yeats. Hopkins has dyslexia and was a poor student, but did have a great interest in the arts. Hopkins attended the Jones' West Monmouth Boys School in Pontypool and then later in Cowbridge Grammer School. Hopkins path in live was not clear until he met Richard Burton, which encouraged him to try acting. As a result, he joined the College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Hopkins graduated from the College of Music and Drama in 1957. After graduation he joined the army, where he stayed for two years, until he moved to London in 1965 to join the Royal National Theatre.

Hopkins was noticed by Sir Laurence Olivier at the National Theatre and became his understudy, replacing Olivier in The Dance of Death. Hopkins desire was to be in films. Hopkins got a role in the BBC TV film 'A Flea in Her Ear' (1967) and got his movie debut role as Richard the Lionheart, Anthony Harvey's The Lion of Winter (1968). The film was a success and received seven Oscar nominations, with Katharine Hepburn winning Best Actress for her role. Following the role is movie and TV career blossomed winning many awards. In the 1970's his major movie highs were in A Bridge Too Far (1977) and Audrey Rose (1977). Hopkins also continued on the small screen winning a BAFTA for his role in War and Peace (1973) and an Emmy for The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case (1976).

The 80's seen a continuation of Hopkins success, winning a second Emmy for playing Hitler in the TV Series The Bunker (1981). Other cinema highlights The Elephant Man (1980), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987). 1987 also saw Hopkins give a CBE (Commander of the British Empire), which was followed by a Knighthood in 1993.

Undoubtedly, the role that Hopkins is most famous for is that of cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), for which Hopkins won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992. Hopkins re-played the character in the films Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). The role and the accolades re-ignited Hopkins career in Hollywood, and has been involved in many leading films since then, most notably The Remains of the Day (1993), Shadowlands (1993), Nixon (1995), and Amistad (1997).

Hopkins has been married three times, Petronella Baker, Jennifer Lynton and his current wife Stella Arroyave. He has one child from is first marriage a daughter named Abigail. In 2000, Hopkins became a naturalized US citizen and currently resides there. In 2006, Hopkins was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion picture.