Anthony Hopkins Interview, The Wolfman

The beast is back and the wolf howls again in “The Wolfman”! Legendary actor Sir Anthony Hopkins breathes life into the spectacle and the horror in this latest incarnation of the classic Universal monster movie that launched a legacy of horror.

Hopkins stars opposite Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot’s eccentric father, the ice-cold Sir John Talbot, who embraces his own madness as if it’s the most normal thing in the world. As the two Talbots have not seen one another or spoken for years, from the moment they reconnect, the relationship between the men is naturally tense. With his dirty nails, filthy clothes and unkempt hair, Sir John walks about a huge house that has become derelict and he makes sure that Lawrence never knows where he stands in their relationship.

We sat down recently with the Oscar-winning actor to discuss his new film, “The Wolfman.” Sir Anthony talked to us about his character and what it was like to bring the myth of a cursed man back to its legendary origins. He also offered advice to a new generation of young people who aspire to act.

Q: “The Wolfman” is a very British horror story because of where it’s set and because of who’s in it. How important is the British-ness of it for you?

AH: Well it’s an American movie and it’s an American subject. Didn’t it cast out in America? So it’s an American movie really. It’s not a British subject. What’s interesting about it is that it’s an American Gothic movie filmed in Britain in real locations which gives it another dimension, gives it another reality.

Q: Was making this version more British by setting it in London an important aspect of the story to you?

AH: No, I don’t think about things like that. It’s an American movie made in Britain. To me, it’s a big Gothic movie. It’s like a Western set in an English setting. I said that on the first day I was on the set in the big house with all the American machinery and sets and everything. Those are real location. I said to Joe Johnston, “This is a big American Gothic” and he said, “Yeah.” So that’s it. Actually no, the Claude Rains one also was set in Britain, wasn’t it?

Q: Yes.

AH: Yeah, but it was filmed in Hollywood so the sets looked all wrong. (Laughs) They were terrible sets, I remember. My favorite was “Abbott and Costello Meet the Wolf Man.” [he means “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” in which the Wolf Man appears]. It was the best. You know, “Meet Frankenstein.” I love those because they were funny. But the Claude Rains/Lon Chaney one was set in England. But in those days, the Americans didn’t pay much attention to real architecture so these sets and the villages were terrible. And they built them. Like “How Green Was My Valley” was supposed to be set in Wales. Everyone had Irish accents. And it’s called Green Valley because it’s all full of the thatched huts which the audiences laughed at because they’re not like that at all. But this was actually more authentic because it was set in English villages and done on English sets, but the interiors are American sets so it gave it that extra largeness.

Q: Did you have any concerns when you heard that Universal was remaking a monster movie?

AH: Why would I be concerned? Why would there be concerns? They offered me the part. That’s the reason I did it. I see what you’re trying to get at. The only slight edge I found was that being written by an American writer, which is fine, he’s a fine writer, but he tended to overstate the part I was playing, you know, that he was an English guy who talked like this [imitates extreme British accent] all the time. I can’t play that. I don’t want to play that. That’s alien to me. I can’t do that. I hate that sound. So I thought well I’d play it like a much quieter man based on someone I knew when I was a little boy -- an old farmer who was kind of eccentric and he used to come to my father’s bake house. My father would give him stale bread to feed his pigs. And I used to follow him and he was fascinating. We all, the kids, built up this fantasy about him that he was a demon or something. He was just a harmless old man. He didn’t speak very much. So I based my character on him and on the coldness. There’s one line in the script when I say to Benicio Del Toro “By the way, I’m sorry to inform you, your brother’s body was found in a ditch on the Priory Road. Do you have the right clothes for the funeral?” So cold. And I like that about it so I pulled that coldness right through the character, that he’s not particularly crazy or bad or anything. He’s just eccentric and distant and ice cold. He says at one point, “Look into my eyes. I’m quite dead” because he is already dead. He’s the walking dead. The living dead.

Q: Did you have any concerns about the action scenes you had with Benicio?

AH: No. I did all my own stunts. (Laughs)

Q: Regarding the trifecta of big monsters in Hollywood, you already came out in a movie with Dracula and now Wolfman, would you be interested in working on a movie about Frankenstein?

AH: I don’t know. If it’s a good script, yeah. I suppose. It depends what the script is like. I don’t know. No, I don’t know. I’m not sure.

Q: One of the things your character has in common with another iconic aggressor you played, Hannibal Lecter, is this sense of confidence that he projects. For you, is that where aggression begins? Is that confidence sort of a foundation and do you find that that’s something that you build on when you’re sculpting this type of character?

AH: No. It comes out of expediency. I think a certain coldness. I mean, the relationship between fathers and sons -- for example, I know you talked about Hannibal Lecter, that’s a long time ago – but fathers and sons is very interesting because through the whole of literature from Willy Loman in “Death of a Salesman” to D.H. Lawrence’s “Sons and Lovers,” Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons,” Dostoyevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov” -- [there’s] that coldness, that harsh, brutal business of being a father and a son. And, most men know about the pain of that, the wound as they call it, the Oedipal wound, but I think in this case and my own father was a tough man. He was a pretty red hot guy but he was also cold. He was also slightly disappointed in me because I was not a good kid as a school boy. But I learned from it. I liked that coldness because it was harsh and he taught me to be tough. So I know how to be tough. I know how to be strong. I know how to be ruthless. It’s part of my nature. I wouldn’t be an actor if I wasn’t that. You have to be pretty tough to be an actor and you have to be pretty certain what you want. You can’t waffle through this business. So I use all that power in me as an actor. It comes to be easy. I’m not evil and I’m not a cruel person, but I don’t have much time for wimps and people who just say “Oh, I can’t do it.” Forget it. The ‘yes, but’ merchants of the world. “Yes, but…” “Oh shut up!” And there’s people who have a sense of entitlement “Oh yes, it’s all very well for you.” I don’t have any time for that. I’ve no time. Life’s too short to screw around like that. So I understand that personality trait. When he says “Your brother’s body was found in a ditch. Have you got the right clothes?,” he doesn’t waste time saying “I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry your brother’s dead.” He’s dead. Dead is dead. So it’s an interesting foundation to build from. And I am drawn to those kinds of characters, those hard characters, Dostoyevsky-like characters. I’ve played a few of those, not Hannibal Lecters, but people who are like that. And, in a way, I admire it because we are living in such a nanny age now. Everyone’s so cockled and we’ve lost strength. I came from Wales and it is a strong, butch society. We win the war and all that. People didn’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves. You had to get on with it. So my credo is “Get on with it!” I don’t waste time being soft. I’m not cold but I don’t like wasting my time with... Life’s too short.

Q: In real life too? You’re not just talking about the character now?

AH: Yeah. I’m talking about the character and how it’s based on how I find it easy to play those sort of parts.

Q: You’ve had an amazing career as an actor and I’m wondering if you have any advice for a younger generation of students and people who are coming up through the ranks that aspire to do what you’ve done?

AH: Well, I do. Sometimes I’ve taught and I’ve taken classes at UCLA and various other places and I say to young actors, I get a camera in front of them, I say, “Okay, just get up and do it. Don’t do all this preparation.” I joke with them. I do it with humor. I say, “Don’t waste time doing it. Just get up and do it.” They do audition pieces from Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, or Arthur Miller or whatever. “Let’s just do it! Done!” They do it and I say, “There you are. You can do it. Don’t waste time worrying about it and looking over your shoulder.” But when you’re young, I say, it’s not easy to do that because you always want to analyze. When you’re young, you’re very insecure. And if I could learn with the other kids and revisit my own past, I could say to myself, “Don’t think too much. Just get on and do it!” So that’s what I tell young actors: “Do it! Have the courage to do it. If you’re going to make mistakes, who cares? Don’t worry so much.” You know, we’re always looking over our shoulder at what they will think, what the press will think. Am I making the right career move? When you’re young, you have to do all that to survive, I suppose. You get to a certain point and you think, ah, too hell with it! Just work and be lucky that you’re in work. That’s my general philosophy about everything. And I’m a lucky guy to be around, you know, still 72 years of age, still there fighting for this. Power of personality. Give out the energy and it will come back to you in abundance. But if you go in [without any conviction], it will all fold. You may as well die. I knew an actor who was quarreling for years and years. He was absolutely eaten up because another actor wouldn’t do his off lines in a famous movie called “On the Waterfront.” “That was 50 years ago,” I said, “and you’re still going on about it? It’s over. It’s done. It’s over.” My life is over. I’ve done that side. I don’t go back to Hannibal Lecter or any of that stuff. I’m here. And that’s a tremendous power.

Q: You mentioned not having time for wimps. Do you have a measuring stick for directors and how did Joe Johnston measure up?

AH: Oh he’s great. Joe Johnston just gets on with it. He’s another one. But he’s very calm. I mean, he had a lot of pressure on the film because he didn’t have much preparation. He came in to replace another director. I don’t know what that was about but anyway that’s the situation. And he’s very focused and very amenable. He’s got the double-edged thing where he’s concentrated. He knows what he wants. But, you can go to him and say, “Can I try this?” “Yeah. Do it.” That’s the best director you can work with and he’s sure of himself and there was a lot of pressure on him. He kept his patience. I saw him blow up once on set and he just said, “Can we have more quiet!” I said, “God, I don’t know how you have such patience and control” because he had a lot of pressure on him. So he’s one of the best I’ve worked with.

Q: One of the really great things in this film is watching you and Benicio come at the same dilemma from such different angles. He’s very internal and he’s struggling with the beast. Your character relishes the beast especially towards the end.

AH: He relishes the beast?

Q: He really gets into it. And also, can you talk about the process of you and Benicio creating these characters and that relationship.

AH: As far as the process? Well I just learned my lines, he learned his, and we showed up on set. There’s nothing more to it than that. There’s no…well, you can talk about it a bit. I’m not even aware of it. What you said is a nice observation. I wasn’t aware of that at the moment. But relishing the beast? I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself and that means not the beast but the shadow, the dark side of one’s nature. Have fun with it. It’s to accept everything about ourselves. In this case, it’s a highly fantasized version of the shadow, of the imperfections. This is a monster growing inside of him like the alien in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” that pops out of John Hurt’s stomach. It’s the same thing but it’s a more fantasized science fiction thing. It’s more of a fantasy, a fairy tale if you want, Grimm’s fairytale. But relishing the beast, it’s a part of a psychologist. Relish everything that’s inside you – the imperfections, the darkness, the richness, the light and everything. And that makes for a full life. As Nietzsche and Jung used to say, “Enjoy it all.” But, of course, Sir John is completely bonkers. (Laughs) He’s not playing with a full deck either. He’s minus a sandwich in the picnic.

Q: How much did winning an Oscar transform your life and your career?

AH: Well I still have to look in the shaving mirror in the morning and see the same old face there so it doesn’t change your life that much. But no, it was fun to get the Oscar. It was fun to get a Knighthood. But, you know, you wake up in the morning and the reality is still there. You’re still mortal. It’s fun to have an Oscar. I remember getting up on the podium and thanking people and saying “Thank you very much.” I thought I can make some bad movies now and it doesn’t matter. I’ve reached the top. But then you go on making more movies. You wake up a few days later and the Oscar’s there. I’ve got it at home in Malibu and it’s there. I don’t look at it every day and worship it. Sometimes “Oh there it is.” And people say “This is an Oscar.” But no, it’s nice. It’s a great symbol of success or whatever you want to call it. But you can’t become the Oscar. You can’t become what you think you have to become when you get the Oscar. If you do that, that’s the road to madness and the movie industry is full of crazy people who think that they are God. (Laughs) If you look around, you go “Ooooohhhh.” (Laughs) Hide them from sharp objects, you know. There are some lunatic people in this business and I’ve witnessed them. You go to the Oscars and you see something when you’re there. “Hallo.” You think these people are nuts. So you have to take it with a sense of humor and stay sane.

Q: How much has knighthood and being called Sir Anthony transformed your life?

AH: Well I get a good table in the restaurant. I don’t use it over here. I’m an American citizen, although it was a great honor. It really was a true honor. I’ve forgotten it. When people call me Sir Anthony, I just think “Oh, that’s a bit odd.” But I’m not cynical about it. I just feel more comfortable being called Tony or Mr. Hopkins, whatever they want to call me. Somehow I come into a restaurant and it’s Sir Anthony and I say okay. When they say Sir Hopkins, I say no, because that’s wrong. The Americans tend to get it wrong. Americans are funny. They always say “Oh I want to call you Sir Anthony” and I say “Okay, be my guest.” It doesn’t transform your life, you know.

Q: Sir Anthony, you talked a little bit about relishing the beast in life…

AH: No, correct that, relishing the imperfect side of our lives, the darkness, the thing that’s in us all.

Q: You’ve played characters like Sir John and Lecter who really embrace their darker, primal urges. You’ve also played very repressed characters as in “The Remains of the Day.”

AH: That’s what happens if you don’t address the darkness in you. You become repressed and depressed and suicidal.

Q: What’s more challenging to play? With the guys who embrace it, you can really go over the top. And with those that repress it, …

AH: They’re all pretty easy. I played “The Remains of the Day.” All I did was, don’t move much. See, you’re playing the butler. You can’t bang doors and say [loud voice] “My Lord, would you like a cup of tea?” (Laughs) People say, “How’d you stay so sober?” “I don’t move!” Michael Winner was directing “Death Wish” with Charles Bronson who plays the guy who takes out the killers. Michael went and directed it and he’s one of these very outrageous British directors and the studio said, “Michael, you can’t give it to Charles Bronson. He doesn’t look like a lawyer” because he’s supposed to be one. I say, “Why? Stick a pencil in his hand and he’s a lawyer, isn’t he? And a gun in his pocket.” Everyone has stereotypes about it all. But, you know, how do you play a butler? Just don’t move too much. Move gently and quietly. How do you play Hannibal Lecter? Don’t move. Just scare people by being still. How do you play the Wolfman? Learn your lines, show up and do it and snarl a bit. Acting is very easy. If you ask John Wayne, how do you play? Well you just go to Monument Valley and get on a horse and you become John Wayne. Acting is very, very simple when you’ve been doing it a long time anyway. So, no acting required.

Q: Benicio lobbied for the make-up versus CGI and Hugo Weaving said he would prefer not to work on a green screen. Do you have a preference?

AH: I don’t mind. No. It’s more interesting if you’re on set, but CGI, if they’re going to get the effect that they need. We did some CGI out here at the studios. I don’t mind. They know what they’re doing so I don’t argue with it.

Q: You’re playing Odin in “Thor.” Have you already started filming? Can you talk a little bit about the film?

AH: I’m enjoying working with Kenneth Branagh very much, a terrific young director. Well he’s not that young. He’s younger than me. Anyone’s younger than me. (Laughs) But he’s terrific and I’m really enjoying that.

Q: Have read any of the comic books?

AH: No. I’m not a great researcher, although I’ve got the whole Marvel Comics book but I haven’t read it yet. It’s very dense. I’m not into that culture. Like “Wolfman,” this is a big cultural thing, isn’t it? I mean, these monster movies. I’ve never been caught up with that.

Q: What about Norse mythology?.

AH: Yeah, I know a little bit about it, not much though. I’m not well read in Norse mythology – more in Greek mythology and Roman mythology but not [Norse mythology]. I’m learning a bit through comic strips now about Odin and Munya (??) and Gunia (??) and all those guys. I know that Thursday is named after Thor and Wednesday is names after Woden and yeah, interesting stuff. The history of the Vikings is very interesting and the Viking invasion of Europe.

Q: Emily Blunt mentioned they retooled the script in order to give more depth to some of the characters. When you read a script, do you make changes often?

AH: With all appreciation and respect to the writer, there are certain things they may miss because they’re on schedule, they’ve got to rewrite their stuff, so I’m not taking the shine from them. But there was a scene [where] I’m in the asylum with my son and there were lines that were sort of up in the air, and I thought “What’s the background to this?” So I said to Joe, I said “I’d like to just rewrite something in that so when I describe to my son how I knocked out my Sikh manservant because he’d forced me to lock…” I can’t remember this. I said “I’d like to just build a history into it that Sir John Talbot has been all over the world.” He’s like the Walter Huston character in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” He’s been everywhere -- Australia, New Zealand. He’s been up in the mountains of the Andes. He’s fought on the waterfronts of Boston Harbor and then San Francisco as a pugilist and bare boxer so he’s a man who is scarred by life and has been everywhere. He’s a killer. He’s a tough, tough man like those Victorians were, those great pioneers who pioneered the West. They were tough. There were killings in the saloons in the great Midwest – those bare knuckle boxers…like Bob Fitzsimmons (champion pugilist and saloon-keeper in the Wild West) and all those guys. They were tough. So I built that into the script. And I said, that’s what I want to do is to build this raucous, vicious man who just survived through sheer will and muscle. My grandfather was like that. My father’s father was like that -- muscle man, just sheer muscle and tenacity. So I based some of this on my grandfather as well. And there’s a scene, I think I did that in a scene. I don’t know if it’s been cut. They may have cut some of the lines. So I built up a historical biography for myself just to give it a bit of dimension.

“The Wolfman” opens in theaters on February 12^th