Not Bard at all, Sir Anthony
ACTING legend Anthony Hopkins needed all his skills as he played one of William Shakespeare’s greatest heroes – as a tramp.
Sir Anthony, 80, takes the title role in King Lear for BBC2.
It is a modern-day version of the Bard’s tragedy, directed by Richard Eyre. And it certainly convinced onlookers as it was being filmed.
One local in Stevenage, Herts, gave Hopkins directions to the town’s shelter for down-and-outs after coming across him in full flow.
Eyre tells us: “A woman on a mobility scooter scooted up and said to Tony, ‘Y’know there is a hostel for the homeless down there?’”
Sir Anthony, an Oscar winner for The Silence of the Lambs, is required to go “a bit wild and savage” in the role. He is also supported by an A-list film star cast that includes Emma Thompson, Emily Watson, Andrew Scott and Jim Broadbent.
Thompson, playing Lear’s oldest daughter, Goneril, said she was delighted to be reunited on screen with Hopkins last year.
She said: “It is our third time working together and we said to each other this time, him nearly 80 and me nearly 60, ‘Isn’t it great? We are free now in a way we weren’t when we first worked together’.
“We acknowledged it didn’t matter if we got it wrong, we could do anything, we could be stupid, we could be useless. We were fearless and that is a very good creative place to be.”
Andrew, best known as Moriarty in Sherlock, was in awe of Hopkins. “What I found so extraordinary about what Tony brings is how ferocious and alive he is about being an actor.
“He used to come in every day, and you would say, ‘How did you sleep?’, and he would say, ‘F*** sleep, I don’t sleep’.”
This version has a lot more sympathy for all of Lear’s daughters, as the king is portrayed as a deeply difficult man.
Scott also urged people to give the film a go even if they worry about understanding the verse. He explained: “I think Shakespeare is a little bit like rap. I understand the music of it.”
The film will air on BBC2 in the last week of the month. Bafta TV Awards ratings in 1999, compared with 3.7m in 2017. Will last night’s show do any better? Doubt it...
One woman scooted up and told Tony, ‘There is a hostel for the homeless down there’