At 88, Anthony Hopkins Calls Life a Long Goodbye

Topic: Classical Music

Sir Anthony Hopkins, 88, says life is one long goodbye. (Getty Images: Alan Crowhurst)

Sir Anthony Hopkins is a very famous actor in Hollywood.

From the scary Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, to the quiet butler Mr Stevens in The Remains of the Day and the moving Anthony in The Father, the Welsh actor is known for his strong screen presence and deep feeling.

Listen to Sir Anthony Hopkins talk with ABC Classic Breakfast's Megan Burslem about his personal memoir of an album, the music his mother liked him to play, and the meaning of a life well lived.

In recent years, Hopkins has also followed his lifelong love for music and his skill in writing music.

At 88, Hopkins is putting out a new album after signing with Decca Classics, a top classical music label.

The album, called Life Is a Dream, shows orchestral pieces Hopkins has written over the past sixty years.

Hopkins shares his lasting love of music and talks about the chances he had to learn from composers and conductors while acting in Hollywood with Megan Burslem on ABC Classic Breakfast.

What was it like to grow up in South Wales?

When I was seven, my mother told my music teacher, "I want you to teach him Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata."

Hopkins has kept playing piano all his life. (Supplied: Decca / Universal Music Operations)

That was the first very hard classical piece I learned as a boy, and I had to practice it very slowly.

Then I went with my parents to a concert at Sophia Gardens in South Wales, and I got the pianist's autograph.

Then I heard Vaughan Williams's Lark Ascending, the Thomas Tallis Overture, and old MGM musical songs.

The music from all those great artists still hits me deeply.

How did you become a composer?

I have very little formal music education.

I played piano as a child, but I got bored with theory and stopped studying it.

So I stopped playing piano, but I still practiced when I could read music.

In 2008, Hopkins surprised people by conducting one of his own pieces with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. (Supplied: Decca / Universal Music Operations)

There was a music shop in South Wales where I could buy manuscript paper, and I would write little bits of harmony.

But my mind was all over the place and I didn’t know how to organize it.

Many years later, I met George Fenton, who wrote the music for the film Shadowlands.

I always loved watching film scoring, going to studios to see conductors like George Fenton or John Williams.

And many years ago, Fenton told me, "You can write music; you are a composer."

I, like many people, felt self‑doubt, thinking, "I’m not really a composer." It is called impostor syndrome.

I think we often lie to ourselves, saying, "I can’t do that."

But how can you know until you try?

So that is what I do.

What was it like hearing your music performed by Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic?

It was surreal.

I met conductor Gustavo Dudamel through Bradley Cooper and another friend.

He flew in from Spain, I think, and led the whole piece over two days.

What has music taught you about life?

I think music shows pain and sorrow.

Arthur Schopenhauer said music goes beyond all human experience.

It is not a language we understand. It does not act like human behavior or speech, but it has a powerful way to express us.

But in my own life, I now see that life is one long, long goodbye.

From the moment we are born, we say goodbye to childhood, then to adolescence, and finally we say goodbye completely.

At the end of everything there is hello, my love, and goodbye, my love.

And that is the theme of life: nothing stays the same.

It does not make us sad. In fact, it gives comfort because we cannot change it.

I am here. One day I will not be here.

Did music help you reach the dark emotions needed for roles like Hannibal Lecter?

Hannibal Lecter was just a job for me. He was a character I played. I am not like him.

But it let me reach the dark side of myself, linking to the sad side of my music that feels like grief.

Hopkins says the sad side of his music let him reach the dark side of himself for roles like Dr Hannibal Lecter. (Getty Images: Phil Bray/MGM Pictures/Universal Pictures/Dino DeLaurentiis)

We are on this planet only for a short time.

We think about this life, the very life of life. And before we know it, we can waste a lot of time.

Because I was limited in school as a boy, I decided those limits would push me, forcing me to survive, create, and do whatever I must.

So I have been very creative based on – I do not want to use the word villainy – but based on the dark side of a person, the demons that hold you back, I challenge them and say, "Why not?"

What did the Los Angeles wildfires teach you about music’s power to bring hope?

Last week, Rick Caruso opened the new Pacific Palisades village after the 2025 fires.

They are using my music, Fanfare in March, with the John Williams Orchestra for the opening.

The fire hurt many thousands of people who lost a lot.

Hopkins is glad his music can lift spirits at the reopening of Palisades Village after the 2025 LA wildfires. (Getty Images for Caruso: Phillip Faraone)

We lost our house too. We lost everything here.

But we will move into a new house in the first week of September.

The result is that I am happy they can use my music to raise spirits again.

Do you have any messages for your Australian fans?

Good on you, mate, take a U‑turn and keep laughing.

This interview was edited for clarity from a chat on ABC Classic Breakfast with Megan Burslem. Hear more at 8 am, Friday 21 August on ABC Classic.

Get the latest classical music stories straight to your inbox

See more ABC coverage in your search results

Promotion