Like his fellow Welshman Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins left England and a celebrated stage career to enjoy the life of an A-list Hollywood actor. The restless thespian made an auspicious film debut in "The Lion in Winter" (1968), as the scheming Richard the Lionheart, and won Emmys for his TV-movie performances in "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case" (NBC, 1976), as accused kidnapper Bruno Hauptmann, and "The Bunker" (CBS, 1981), as Adolph Hitler. But it was his Oscar-winning turn as Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) that brought the years of struggle and
Stage debut in "The Quare Fellow" at the Library Theatre in Manchester, England
Acted in repertory in Leicester, Liverpool and Hornchurch, England
1964
London stage debut, "Julius Caesar" at the Royal Court Theater
Invited to join The National Theater at the Old Vic where he played King Lear, Macbeth and Antony; first major role was when he understudied Laurence Olivier and eventually went on in "Dance of Death" (1966)
