Top 100 Sir Anthony Hopkins Quotes From The Inspirational Actor

Writvik Gupta
Dec 12, 2023 By Writvik Gupta
Originally Published on Feb 27, 2021
Edited by Isobel Murphy
Anthony Hopkins in a grey suit
Age: 0-99
Read time: 11.5 Min

Anthony Hopkins's quotes about life, acting, character, humanity, philosophy, and more are hugely inspirational.

Born on 31 December 1937 in Port Talbot, West Glamorgan, Wales, Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins is a legendary Welsh film actor and phenomenal human. He was also a director, composer, and film producer.

Sir Anthony Hopkins graduated from the College of Music and Drama in 1957. In 1967 he made his first film for television. He acted in various movies, one of his most remarkable ones being 'The Silence Of The Lambs' for which he won an Oscar for the Best Actor. An actor par excellence, he has also been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his service to the field of arts.

If you enjoy these Anthony Hopkins quotes from the famous actor, take a look at these Jack Nicholson quotes and Tom Hardy quotes for more great quotes.

Anthony Hopkins Quotes On Life

Are you ready to discover the best Anthony Hopkins quotes? These Anthony Hopkins quotes inspire us to live our lives freely. Which of these Anthony Hopkins quotes is your favorite?

1. "My philosophy is: It’s none of my business what people say of me and think of me."

-  Anthony Hopkins.

2. "Life is tough, but you just have to just get out of bed, get out and do it”

- Anthony Hopkins.

3. "We all dream. We dream vividly, depending on our nature."

- Anthony Hopkins.

4. "And I love a scary movie. It makes your toes curl and it’s not you going through it."

- Anthony Hopkins.

5. "We are dying from overthinking. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

6. "I am what I am and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier."

- Anthony Hopkins.

7. "I love life because what more is there?"

- Anthony Hopkins.

8. "If you don’t go when you want to go, when you do go, you’ll find you’ve gone."

- Anthony Hopkins.

9. "Today is the tomorrow I was worried about yesterday."

- Anthony Hopkins.

10. "My life turned out to be beyond my greatest dreams."

- Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins Quotes On Acting

Person holding a reel disk

As a great actor, Anthony Hopkins acting quotes are as powerful as they are motivating. With Anthony Hopkins quotes about being an actor, and Anthony Hopkins quotes about music, this list is perfect for fans of Anthony Hopkins quotes!

11. "Acting's entertainment. It's not brain surgery."

- Anthony Hopkins.

12. "You reach a point in life where you just think, 'Show up, do your job, make sure the cheque's on the way,' and that's it. I'm not hungry to do anything more, really."

- Anthony Hopkins.

13. "The art of acting is not to act. Once you show them more, what you show them in fact, is bad acting."

- Anthony Hopkins.

14. "If you do things, whether its acting or music or painting do it without fear."

- Anthony Hopkins.

15. "Acting is just a process of relaxation, actually. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

16. "I always distrust the art when it is applied to acting."

- Anthony Hopkins.

17. " Our existence is beyond our explanation, whether we believe in God or we have religion or we’re atheist."

- Anthony Hopkins.

18. "There is nothing to be scared of in movies. It’s a bit scarier going on stage."

- Anthony Hopkins.

19. "There's no truth in acting, it's all a trick because you go on stage in front of sets, you're on film – it's all a trick. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

20. "I tried acting, liked it, and stuck with it."

- Anthony Hopkins.

21. "I’m most suspicious of scripts that have a lot of stage direction at the top of the page."

- Anthony Hopkins.

22. "I found a way into the acting business because I thought, well, it beats working for a living, and so that's what I do. But I still feel like a bit of a stranger in it all."

- Anthony Hopkins.

23. "If I spent all my time criticizing myself, I wouldn’t be able to function."

- Anthony Hopkins.

24. "I know that some actors and directors like to have intensity on set. I don’t, particularly."

- Anthony Hopkins.

25. "Acting is about listening and reacting. You don't have to do much - as long as you stay out of the way of others. That's why it works."

- Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins Quotes About Letting Go

Are you enjoying these quotes so far? Enjoy this handful of quotes about letting go by the famous actor Anthony Hopkins.

26. "Let go of people who aren’t ready to love you yet!  Stop giving your love to them."

- Anthony Hopkins.

27. "Beware the tyranny of the weak. They just suck you dry."

- Anthony Hopkins.

28. "I have no interest in Shakespeare and all that British nonsense. I just wanted to get famous and all the rest is hogwash."

- Anthony Hopkins.

29. "Stop hard conversations with people who don’t want to change."

- Anthony Hopkins.

30. "Life's too short to deal with other people's insecurities."

- Anthony Hopkins.

31. "I know your instincts attempt everything to win the good mercy of those around you, but it's also this impulse that will steal your time, energy and mental, physical and spiritual health."

- Anthony Hopkins.

32. "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind."

- Anthony Hopkins.

33. "I think the healthy way to live is to make friends with the beast inside oneself."

- Anthony Hopkins

34. "Stop showing up for people who are indifferent to your presence."

- Anthony Hopkins.

35. "I've never really belonged anywhere."

- Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Hopkins Quotes On Living Life

These are some Anthony Hopkins quotes about life.

36. "In certain moments of our lives we get little signals, little flashes that say ‘it’s yours if you want it.'"

- Anthony Hopkins.

37. "There is no shortcut to happiness, you have to live your life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

38. "No expectations. Ask nothing, expect nothing and accept everything, and life is very well."

- Anthony Hopkins.

39. "I'm fascinated by the fact that we can’t grasp anything about time."

- Anthony Hopkins.

40. "We're all caught up in circumstances, and we're all good and evil."

- Anthony Hopkins.

41. "I don’t care: if they don’t like it, they don’t like it, but I do it for the fun of it."

- Anthony Hopkins.

42. "Guilt is the thief of life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

43. "I’m interested in the dream and subconscious mind, the peculiar dream-like quality of our lives, sometimes nightmare quality of our lives."

- Anthony Hopkins.

44. "Relish everything that’s inside of you, the imperfections, the darkness, the richness and light, and everything. And that makes for a full life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

45. "Once you begin to fall off the track and believe you breathe different air to everyone else, you're doomed; you're finished."

- Anthony Hopkins.

46. "If people don’t want to bother with me, fine. You know, God bless them, and move on."

- Anthony Hopkins.

47. "People don't always tell you what they are thinking. They just see to it that you don't advance in life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

48. "Everything is random and there are no guarantees."

- Anthony Hopkins.

49. "By giving up 'the need' and 'the want', things begin to happen for you."

- Anthony Hopkins.

50. "I'm a pretty tough guy, you know. I've got a lot of compassion, but I don't waste time with people."

- Anthony Hopkins.

51. "I don’t have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don’t know how people live like that.  But it seems a little crazy to me."

- Anthony Hopkins.

52. "We get questions in our head and little voices that put us down when we were kids, so get over that. That’s all I’ve had to do."

- Anthony Hopkins.

53. "You mellow out and you just don’t take things too seriously."

- Anthony Hopkins.

54. "I learn poetry, learn text, and that really keeps you alive."

- Anthony Hopkins.

55. "The whole point of courage, to overcome your fear. That’s the interesting thing, when courage bleeds through the fear."

- Anthony Hopkins.

56. "That's what happens if you don't address the darkness in you."

- Anthony Hopkins.

57. "I'm one of the slowest drivers on the road."

- Anthony Hopkins.

58. "If you're doing anything too fast, including living life too fast, that creates sudden death. If I have to be somewhere on time, I make sure I leave early enough."

- Anthony Hopkins.

59. "Once you accept the fact that there's nothing to fear, you drill into the primal oil well. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

60. "I believe when we do things without fear, we can do anything. As long as you don't worry about the consequences."

- Anthony Hopkins.

61. "I was bullied as a boy – lots of kids are, but hopefully most of us get on with our lives and grow up."

- Anthony Hopkins.

62. "I've been composing music all my life and if I'd been clever enough at school I would like to have gone to music college."

- Anthony Hopkins.

63. "We’re just blades of grass, and when we go, we go, we never come back."

- Anthony Hopkins.

64. "I always liked to take the plunge, you know, I'd jump in at the deep end and hope that I'd find land somehow, or hope I'd float or survive. That's more or less the way I've gone through my life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

65. "We are slowly killing ourselves by thinking about everything."

- Anthony Hopkins.

The Best Anthony Hopkins Quotes

Find some of the best Anthony Hopkins quotes from the famous actor to inspire you here, including Anthony Hopkins quotes on philosophy and on music.

66. "The magical, supernatural force that is with us every second is time. We can’t even comprehend it. It’s such an illusion, it’s such a strange thing."

- Anthony Hopkins.

67. "You look closely enough, you’ll find that everything has a weak spot where it can break, sooner or later. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

68. "The reward is in the doing of it."

- Anthony Hopkins.

69. "It's not your job to exist for people and give them your life, little by little, moment after moment."

- Anthony Hopkins.

70. " Don’t look for the results, don’t live in the payoff. Live in the moment which is a spiritual principle. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

71. "I think a certain amount of stress in life is good. The stress of just working, which takes effort."

- Anthony Hopkins.

72. "Why love, if losing hurts so much?

- Anthony Hopkins.

73. "We all sell ourselves to some degree, I think."

- Anthony Hopkins.

74. "I am a bit of a solitude person – a solitary personality. I like being on my own. I don’t have any major friendships or relationships with people."

- Anthony Hopkins.

75. "I never make conscious decisions."

- Anthony Hopkins

76. "I like to take it easy."

- Anthony Hopkins.

77. "I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen."

- Anthony Hopkins.

78. "I’ve got no need to prove to myself that I can do Shakespeare. I’ve done it.”

- Anthony Hopkins.

79. "If you don't follow through on your dreams, you might as well be a vegetable."

- Anthony Hopkins.

80. "You mellow out and you just don’t take things too seriously."

- Anthony Hopkins.

The Most Famous Quotes Of Anthony Hopkins

Here are some most famous quotes of Anthony Hopkins on a range of topics, from philosophy even to death. Aspiring actor or not, anyone can learn a lot from these quotes.

81. "The truth is that you’re not for everyone…"

- Anthony Hopkins.

82. "I'm glad I'm not young anymore. I don't want to start all over again."

- Anthony Hopkins.

83. "You are not responsible for saving people."

- Anthony Hopkins.

84. "I have no illusions about my position in this world as an actor or anything like that."

- Anthony Hopkins.

85. "The best of us developed later. In high school, I was an idiot."

- Anthony Hopkins.

86. "I don't like freeloaders; I don't like people who are negative."

- Anthony Hopkins.

87. "Decide you deserve a true friendship. Wait then... just a minute... and look how everything is starting to change..."

- Anthony Hopkins.

88. "I don’t much like the idea of parents who interfere."

- Anthony Hopkins.

89. "I'm very realistic. Reality is a very liberating thing."

- Anthony Hopkins.

90. "I don’t believe in nepotism."

- Anthony Hopkins.

91. "I’m not a health freak. I just work out every day."

- Anthony Hopkins.

92. "I have a punishing workout regimen..."

- Anthony Hopkins.

93. "I don't mind being a commodity. It's given me a good life."

- Anthony Hopkins.

94. "My father was grounded, a very meat-and-potatoes man. He was a baker. "

- Anthony Hopkins.

95. "We are fascinated by the darkness in ourselves, we are fascinated by the shadow, we are fascinated by the boogeyman."

- Anthony Hopkins.

96. "Well, everyone likes movies when they're a little kid."

- Anthony Hopkins.

97. "People ask, 'Should I call you Sir Hopkins?' But I say, 'No. Call me Tony,' because it's too much of a lift-up."

- Anthony Hopkins.

98. "A census taker once tried to test me."

- Anthony Hopkins.

99. "We have a Bösendorfer piano that I play every day. It keeps my brain and my fingers active."

- Anthony Hopkins.

100. "I tend to get bored quickly, which means I must be boring."

- Anthony Hopkins.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully curated lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked the top 100 Anthony Hopkins quotes, then why not take a look at these Cary Grant quotes or Leonardo DiCaprio quotes for more great quotes?

Main image credit: John Gress Media Inc / Shutterstock.com
 

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Written by Writvik Gupta

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Writvik Gupta

A professional content writer hailing from Kolkata, India, with extensive experience in the corporate sector, Writvik Gupta has worked with several reputed companies, including ITC WelcomHotel Jodhpur, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Aryan Imaging, and Eduquity. He also serves as a consultant for a startup based in Bangalore. With a passion for the outdoors, Writvik enjoys trekking and traveling to remote destinations. He also has a keen interest in exploring various cuisines and regularly volunteers for social causes.

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