(Photo: Getty Images) 
Anthony Hopkins is set to star in the forthcoming sci-fi feature film Zero Contact. Slight spoiler alert, his character is deceased and is speaking to his son via a pre-taped video. While his character may have passed, he’s still large-and-in-charge, giving out directives.
According to the storyline, the world is about to come to an end, unless his son steps in.

Hopkins himself is so commanding on-screen and off, it makes us want to get to know him a bit more:
1. He’s appreciative.

Hopkins captured the world’s attention as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s Silence of the Lambs. Last year, Hopkins and his co-star Jodie Foster sat down to talk about the crime thriller. Hopkins recapped his first thoughts when reading the script, saying: “After 10 pages, I phoned my agent. I said, ‘Is this a real offer? I want to know. This is the best part I’ve ever read.’ I read the rest of the script, and Jonathan (Demme) came over on a Saturday afternoon and we had dinner. And I said, ‘Is this for real?” And said, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘OK.’ He was such a wonderful guy to work with. I couldn’t believe my luck, and I was scared to speak to you (Foster). I thought, ‘She just won an Oscar,’” reports Variety.
2. He’s grounded.

Hopkins is 84 years old and has traveled the world. In an interview with The Guardian, he talks about his background, saying, “I come from a generation where men were men. There’s nothing soft or touchy-feely about any of us, where we were from in Wales. There’s a negative side to that, because we’re not very good at receiving love or giving it. We don’t understand it.”
3. He’s very practical.

In an interview with GQ, he was asked about bringing “electricity” to the screen, with him saying: “Well, actually, I don’t think there’s any such thing, but I think acting found me. I had no plan to be an actor. And I don’t make it sound so heavy that it’s destiny, but I think roles choose you, in a way, and that’s what happened with The Father. I’d heard about the play, I read the script and I phoned my agent and I said, ‘Yes, definitely do this!’ This was one of those rare scripts: so well written, so well defined, so clear.”
4. He talks about the tough times.

In 2020, Hopkins elaborated on his struggles with alcohol abuse and celebrated a milestone in living a sober life, sharing with the public via Twitter: “It’s been a tough year, full of grief and sadness for many, many, many people. But 45 years ago today I had a wake-up call. I was heading for disaster. I was drinking myself to death. I got a message, a little thought, that said, ‘Do you want to live or die?’ I said I wanted to live. And suddenly the relief came and my life has been amazing.”
5. He’s understanding of others’ space.

He has a grown daughter, but they do not speak. And he respects her wishes, saying in an interview with The Guardian, “I accepted it years ago. It’s her choice and she must live her life. I say to young people, ‘If your parents are giving you trouble, move out.’ You’ve got to let go... just leave if it’s holding you back.”
6. He’s tenacious.

Hopkins’ first on-screen role was in the 1960 miniseries A Matter of Degree and he’s still at it some sixty years later. He credits his longstanding career with it being so satisfying, saying to The Guardian, “Oh, yes, work has kept me going. Work has given me my energy.”
7. He has no plans of retiring.

Hopkins is going to keep acting as long as he can. When talking to Republic World, he said, “I enjoy working. I enjoy getting out of the house and doing something different, I enjoy the novelty of it. My wife Stella worries about my health and once said, ‘Do you want to keep going until you drop dead?’ I replied, ‘I guess so, unless my health gives out first.’ And she said, ‘Well, that’s good, if it’s really what you want to do.’ And it is. Acting is my passion.”
8. He enjoys what he does.

There’s a reason Hopkins is “addicted” to acting. He enjoys it. In an interview with GQ, he talks about his experiences on the set of The Father, saying, “It was an easy… it was a painful subject, about dementia, but they were such a great people to work with. I said to Olivia (Colman) one day, ‘Do they actually pay us to do this?’ You look around, and the life I’ve had in this business, I'm surprised, actually, that they pay me to do what I do, because it’s a lot of fun. And, yeah, if people want to take it very seriously and intensely, that's up to them. But I've done all that in the past and I think, 'No, I’ll just relax.'”
9. He has perspective.

In regards to the big scheme of things, he has a good outlook (if not a little morbid), saying, “I think, with life, just get on with it, you know? We’re all going to die, and that’s a great motivator.”
10. He’s light-hearted.

Hopkins has lived a long life. And a good life. But, sometimes hard. And, on occasion, the best thing to do is... dance, like he does in the above clip when getting ready for this year's Academy Awards. 
Are Anthony Hopkins' good vibes rubbing off on you right about now?