He gives very few interviews, and we had to persevere to get him to agree to talk to us.
It is from the United Kingdom that Sir Anthony Hopkins, 83, spoke for us about his Oscar obtained for "The Father", by Florian Zeller, which comes out this Wednesday, and his admiration for the young French filmmaker who allowed him to win a second statuette almost thirty years after “The Silence of the Lambs”.
While he has the reputation of playing badly licked bears in an interview, the actor was as charming as he was talkative, apparently very happy to have taken part in this adventure.
Is it true that you accepted the role of "The Father" after a breakfast in Los Angeles with Florian Zeller?
ANTHONY HOPKINS.
This is done twice.
One morning my agent sent me Florian and Christopher Hampton's script.
It only took me an hour to read it.
I found it wonderful, so simple and straightforward.
I immediately asked to meet Florian and Christopher.
They didn't hang around: three days later, they arrived in Los Angeles and we actually had breakfast together.
I know it's going to sound like a cliché, but it's one of those moments in my life that I'll remember as extremely enjoyable.
I said to him, “Okay, do you really want me to act in your movie?
"He replied:" Ah yes, I wrote it for you!
The case was heard: how to refuse?
What did you like about the script?
For me, this is the perfect scenario.
It's very European, with a Bergman side… Everything is very anticipated from the script, we see that the camera does not move much, leaving room for the story.
In our time when, in movies as in life, everything goes very quickly, this story takes the time to be told to the spectators.
It reminded me of the way of telling the stories of John Huston or Orson Welles… but with a very French side!
To read also "The Father" with Anthony Hopkins: a moving film which returns from afar
It's the first feature film by a young director… How did you find Florian Zeller on the set?
In fact, he was quite extraordinary.
He had such an ease, whether it was with the technical aspects or the actors, that I asked him if this was really his first film.
He has understood everything: like all great filmmakers, Florian does not tell you how to act, he simply gives very precise instructions, we see that he has prepared everything, that he has everything in mind when he arrives on the set, which leaves him free to give room to his creativity.
Florian Zeller told us that he wanted to train you in territories that you had never explored, that this role was going to confront you with your own mortality… Is that what happened?
Oh, on this last point, it was easy for me considering that I am 83 years old!
(
laughs
) I know where I'm going, I've lived so long, I know life is fragile, I've enjoyed mine a lot, and I feel happy to be alive.
So, no difficulty for me to confront death through a role: I do not contemplate death for all that, I find life so extraordinary!
How did you react when you learned that you had won this second Oscar thanks to the film?
I was in UK the night of the ceremony, so with the jet lag I was asleep!
It was my agent who woke me up to tell me that I had received the Oscar.
And very sincerely, it was a real surprise, I did not expect it, I was in shock, because Chadwick Boseman was so given favorite…
At 83, you seem to be overflowing with projects ...
Let's say I have a few.
I am going to shoot in three films, but I am not allowed to tell you about them.
It keeps me busy: I do my best to learn all these dialogues at the same time!