Anthony Hopkins

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Armchair Umbrella

Tv & Film, Music, Comedy

4.6 • 68.3K Ratings

🗓️ 10 November 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sir Anthony Hopkins (We Did Ok, Kid, The Silence of the Lambs, The Father) is an Academy, Emmy, and BAFTA Award-winning actor. Anthony joins the Armchair Expert to discuss feeling othered and playing the role of the dummy in school, how growing up during a war shaped him, and a chance invitation at the YMCA that changed the trajectory of his life. Anthony and Dax talk about booking his first role the same day James Dean was killed, the advice Laurence Olivier offered after seeing him perform onstage, and doing screen tests with Katherine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole. Anthony explains the mythology behind his first table read for The Silence of the Lambs, his journey to sobriety, and why “We Did Ok, Kid” is a sentiment applicable to everything that’s happened in his life.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Wondry Plus subscribers can listen to Armchair Expert early and add free right now.
0:06.5	Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.
0:10.0	Or you can listen for free wherever you get your podcasts.
0:14.1	Welcome, welcome, welcome to armchair expert.
0:16.6	I'm Dan Shepard and I'm joined by Mrs. Padman.
0:19.4	Hello.
0:20.3	Today we have a nighttime.
0:22.6	Hire, on guard, draw your sword, matey.
0:25.8	Sir.
0:26.7	Sir.
0:27.7	And Tony Hopkins.
0:29.2	Yeah, legend.
0:30.7	Anthony Hopkins, Academy Award-winning actor, The Silence of the Lambs.
0:37.0	Hannibal, the father, meet Joe Black, Fracture.
0:40.2	And he's a new memoir out.
0:41.8	Triciest word in the biz.
0:42.9	You did a great job.
0:43.9	Thank you.
0:44.6	Ding, ding, ding.
0:45.3	His book is called We Did Okay, Kid.
0:48.1	Oh, yeah.
0:49.2	And, I mean, again, what a surreal joy to sit down with Sir Anthony Hopkins.
	...

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