Richard Arthur Hopkins: Who was Anthony Hopkins’ father?

Richard Arthur Hopkins is the father of iconic Hollywood actor Anthony Hopkins. Richard Arthur Hopkins’s son has a reputation for being one of Britain’s most recognizable and prolific actors of all time. The Welsh actor, director, and producer is a recipient of numerous accolades during his career, including two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and an Olivier Award. He is known for films such as  The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Mask of Zorro (1998), and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)’s Thor franchise (2011–2017).

Richard Arthur Hopkins: Bio Summary

Who is Anthony Hopkins’ father?

Richard Arthur Hopkins was born on October 3, 1907, in Newport, Newport County, Wales, United Kingdom. Richard was a Barker. He was married to Muriel Anne Hopkins. The couple went on to have their son, the famous British actor Anthony Hopkins. One of the actor’s grandfathers was from Wiltshire, England.

Talking about how his father affected his life in an interview, He stated his father’s working-class values have always underscored his life, the Silence of the Lamb actor revealed to the Telegraph in an interview -“Whenever I get a feeling that I may be special or different, I think of my father and I remember his hands – his hardened, broken hands.“

ALSO, READ; Muriel Anne Hopkins: Who is Anthony Hopkins’ mother?

Recalling his childhood while talking to the Telegraph, the actor recalls “with bitter anger” the time his father took him, aged 14, to see Julius Caesar and an actress refused to give him an autograph. “She pushed him out of the way and got into her car and my father said, ‘She’s a bit of a show-off isn’t she?’ But he was hurt. You see people in this business dismiss everyone as if they’re nothing and I think, ‘Get over yourselves’.”

Although the Thor actor says he has a “huge sense of nostalgia” about growing up in Wales, his childhood memories are mixed. “My dream was to be anybody but who I was. I wasn’t very happy at school, I was a bit of a slowcoach and a dimwit. I probably suffered from dyslexia but I was just classified as stupid. I was a dreamer and would paint and tinkle on the piano. I wanted to get out – not out of Port Talbot but out of the landscape of my own mind.”

Initially, Richard Arthur Hopkins’s son wanted to be a concert pianist but changed his mind after meeting Richard Burton, he decided that acting might be his best escape. In 1949, to instil discipline, his parents insisted he attends Jones’ West Monmouth Boys’ School in Pontypool. Per The Mirror, the actor revealed that being sent to boarding school from a young age destroyed any “idea of family loyalty”.

ALSO, READ; Jennifer Lynton: What happened to Anthony Hopkins’ ex-wife?

What happened to Richard Arthur Hopkins?

Anthony Hopkins’ father Richard Arthur Hopkins passed away in March 1981 at Newport, Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was 73 years old at the time of his passing. The cause of his death has not been revealed by the family.

Fast forward, Anthony is regarded as one of the most celebrated actors of all time. He received two Academy Awards for Best Actor for The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Father (2020), becoming the oldest Best Actor Oscar winner to date. His other Oscar-nominated films include The Remains of the Day (1993), Nixon (1995), Amistad (1997), and The Two Popes (2019).

ALSO, READ; Petronella Barker: Inside the Life of  Anthony Hopkins’s first wife

The actor has been married three times. He was married to actress Petronella Barker from 1966 to 1972- they had a daughter- Abigail Hopkins. He was married to Jennifer Lynton from 1973 to 2002, and Stella Arroyave since 2003. Anthony Hopkins met his current wife Arroyave, a Colombian-born antiques dealer in the early 2000s, and he credits her with helping him overcome his feelings of depression at the time.