Sir Anthony Hopkins is showing no signs of slowing down after starring in films for more than four decades. Hopkins recently followed up his leading role in the dramatic thriller with the adventure film , a Robert Zemeckis movie shot using performance capture technology. Beowulf was a brand new experience for the Oscar-winning actor who discussed the process at the press junket for Fracture.
The Practical Aspect of Working on Beowulf: Hopkins explained how it worked on the set of Beowulf. It's weird because you go around with little bubbles all over your face. They put these little marks all over your face.
It's okay. I don't know what the point of the exercise is, but I guess Bob Zemeckis is a good director and I think that's his obsession. That's his passion, is this new photo whatever it's called.
It's interesting. I haven't seen it yet. It takes them a long time to process it.
I'm going to do some ADR on it next week, I think. I guess it's easier to shoot because..
. Actually, it's not easy to be in because you have to go through an hour of all this stuff on you, but then you have to take all of it [off]. It's all stuck on with glue.
And before each scene you have to have a full body scan. You have to do this [arms out] and that [arms up] and then you have to turn around so the computers can take you all in, but it's an ingenious process. Apparently, they really have made an advance since ; they've made some advances.
I haven't seen it because it's not ready to see yet, but they put little beads all over the eyelids because they wanted to get the eyes to look alive. On The Polar Express they hadn't quite figured that out, so you're covered in all these things. You walk around in these jumpsuits and feel ridiculous.
The Challenges of Performance Capture: Hopkins admitted that, as an actor, he felt he was missing some of his tools. You miss everything. You don't have anything.
Say you have a cup or a mug or some sort of medieval thing, a drinking goblet, it's made of steel and it's all hollow. If there was a bottle, there'd just be a piece of steel construction with nothing in it and you'd have to do this. I don't know.
It's weird. Beowulf - The Story and Costumes: It's a modernized version of it but it's set in its period, said Hopkins. What seems to me so strange is that they designed costumes for it.
I remember going in and they put a beard on you and everything, huge cloaks and all that stuff. It's out of the period, medieval period or dark ages, really, 10th century, whatever it was. Then they photograph you and put you through a computer and then you never see it again.
That's it. But then they dress all that in later. So it seems to me, I don't get the purpose of it.
But, again, I'm out of it I guess. Tackling Another Biopic: Hopkins recently signed on to star as Alfred Hitchcock in Alfred Hitchcock Presents for writer/director Ryan Murphy ( ). The biopic will focus on the time period surrounding Hitchcock s work on Psycho.
I better put on some weight, joked Hopkins. But it's about the making of Psycho, but it's not about the making of Psycho as such, but how Hitchcock felt such a failure all his life. He felt such a loser all his life.
He had a very troubled relationship with everyone. A very complex man, a very private, quiet man. There are all these rumors about his life and his relationship with his wife I know nothing about the guy, but this script is a good script.
I think we were supposed to be doing it in May, but then they pulled the script back again because they had to check with the Hitchcock estate and also they wanted to rewrite it again. I don't know why. I hope they don't rewrite it out of shape because it was pretty good when I read it.
On the Rumors He ll Be Playing Tolstoy: Hopkins said it s not happening. No, that all fell through. I don't know what happened to that.
They postponed and it was going and then I said, Look, I've got to get on with my life. I think Meryl Streep was going to do it and I think she pulled out of it Other Projects in the Works: There may be a film I'm doing with Morgan Freeman and Bill Macy, revealed Hopkins. I'm just waiting for that, too.
And there's also a chance, I may play the Wolfman in London in a movie with Benicio Del Toro. My agent says it's a great script but he hasn't sent it to me yet. He said he just wants to make sure that the deal is all in.
But I play the Wolfman's father in Paris. A wonderful part.
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