The Big Interview/ Anthony Hopkins

 

‘I knew I needed help. I knew it was over’

Alcoholism, anger, Academy Awards – and 50 years of sobriety

The Big Interview

Anthony Hopkins

As the actor approaches his 90th year and publishes an autobiography, he reflects on his early years on stage, being inspired by Laurence Olivier, becoming a Hollywood star and conquering his demons

Steve Rose
Monday 3 Novenber 2025

‘What’s the weather like over there?” asks Anthony Hopkins as soon as our video call begins. He may have lived in California for decades but some Welshness remains, in his distinctive, mellifluous voice – perhaps a little hoarser than it once was – and his preoccupation with the climate. It’s a dark evening in London but a bright, sunny morning in Los Angeles, and Hopkins is equally bright in demeanour and attire, sporting a turquoise and green shirt. “I came here 50 years ago. Somebody said: ‘Are you selling out?’ I said: ‘No, I just like the climate and to get a suntan.’ But I like Los Angeles. I’ve had a great life here.”

The rise and fall of Emilia Pérez: how did it all go so wrong for the Oscar-nominated film and its star?

Less than two weeks ago, the movie was flying high, with 13 Academy Award nods. Then came a social media scandal and a serious backlash

Steve Rose

Wednesday  5 February 2025

You can generally tell when awards season is going well for a movie because its stars are everywhere, attending galas, treading red carpets, doing as many interviews as they can, and repeating the same bland sentiments about how special this movie is and everyone was a dream to work with. Conversely, you can tell things aren’t so rosy when your lead star is cancelling all their US appearances, being discreetly airbrushed out of the campaign and issuing statements such as: “I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain.”

‘Not black enough’: the identity crisis that haunted Whitney Houston

The new documentary on the late star’s tragic life focuses on her conflicted public persona as a black star in a white pop world

Steve Rose

Saturday 7 July 2018

“Sometimes it gets down to ‘You’re not black enough for them. You’re not R&B enough. You’re very pop. The white audience has taken you away from them.’” This was Whitney Houston, reflecting on the first significant setback of her career, when she was booed at the 1989 Soul Train Awards. By that stage, she had already won 11 American Music Awards, two Grammys, achieved the biggest-selling debut album by a female artist in history and a record-breaking seven consecutive US No 1 singles. But, despite all this success, some black radio stations refused to play her records, and opponents, including the Rev Al Sharpton, labelled her “Whitey” Houston. For some, she was simply Not Black Enough.

How Kevin Spacey brought Hollywood to the West End

Jonathan Yeo portrait of Kevin Spacey as Richard III, 2013. Photograph: Jonathan Yeo/

How Kevin Spacey brought Hollywood to the West End

Artistic director of the Old Vic will receive an Olivier award next month for reviving the theatre’s fortunes. But when he took over in 2004 he had no idea the gamble would pay off…

Steve Rose

Friday 6 March 2015

Kevin Spacey once met Laurence Olivier. “I was a Juilliard student at the time. I met him in a hallway. I was very nervous,” he divulged during a Guardian webchat last year. If there’s more to the anecdote, we’re unlikely to get it out of an actor so notoriously tight-lipped that it was once remarked: “We know more about the surface of Mars tihan we do about Kevin Spacey’s private life.” But the encounter is an intriguing prospect. Did they talk? Did irascible old Olivier offer advice, or brusquely shove Spacey out of his way? In the biopic version of the scene, their eyes would meet with a glimmer of fateful recognition as they passed in opposite directions.