Many actors and filmmakers talk about the societal importance of films, but Anthony Hopkins is not one of them. In a recent conversation with The New York Times, Hopkins was asked whether he considers any of his films important, and the actor replied, saying, 'No'. Hopkins' thoughts are similar to the those of other legendary actors, such as Denzel Washington, who once said that filmmaking is not difficult, whereas fighting in Iraq is.
Hopkins also gave a mini-masterclass on how he pulled off his iconic roles in films such as The Remains of the Day and The Silence of the Lambs. Saying people ask him about it with admiration for his work, Hopkins revealed his approach to playing the cannibalistic killer in The Silence of the Lambs and the butler in The Remains of the Day. "I played the opposite of what they promised," he said alluding to his normalisation of the serial killer character, whom he described as a "monster". The actor also referred to one of his iconic lines in The Silence of the Lambs: “Good morning. You’re not real FBI, are you?"
Anthony Hopkins won a Best Actor Oscar for his role in the 1991 film. The callous way in which he approached the role made it more menacing, which is especially evident when he tells Jodie Foster's FBI trainee about one of his past victims. "I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti," Lector says in the film.
On the other hand, about playing the butler in The Remains of the Day, the actor said that he "was very quiet, very still, and walked about quietly."
