‘I knew I needed help. I knew it was over’: Anthony Hopkins on alcoholism, anger, Academy Awards – and 50 years of sobriety

As the actor approaches his 90th year and publishes an autobiography, he reflects on his early years on stage, being inspired by Laurence Olivier, becoming a Hollywood star and conquering his demons ‘What’s the weather like over there?” asks Anthony Hopkins as soon as our video call begins. He may have lived in California for decades but some Welshness remains, in his distinctive, mellifluous voice – perhaps a little hoarser than it once was – and his preoccupation with the climate. It’s a dark evening in London but a bright, sunny morning in Los Angeles, and Hopkins is equally bright in demeanour and attire, sporting a turquoise and green shirt. “I came here 50 years ago. Somebody said: ‘Are you selling out?’ I said: ‘No, I just like the climate and to get a suntan.’ But I like Los Angeles. I’ve had a great life here.” It hasn’t been all that great recently, actually. In January this year, Hopkins’ house in Pacific Palisades was destroyed by the wildfires. “It was a bit of a calami...

The Future Tense review – film-makers’ complex reverie of English and Irish identities

Semi-dramatised essay film by Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy explores complicated national loyalties alongside those of an extraordinary rebel

The intriguing, complex movies of the married writer-directors Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy have always been about imposture, concealment, double lives and alternative existences – particularly in what I think may be their masterpiece, the drama-thriller Rose Plays Julie. Now they have composed this fiercely personal essay movie about themselves and their family histories, loosely structured around the idea of a plane journey between London and Dublin. Lawlor and Molloy are shown separately narrating into microphones, and “interviewing” people filmed in separate locations, a conceit apparently imposed during lockdown.

It is a semi-dramatised reverie and revelation which exposes a painful new insight into their experiences as Irish expatriate artists in the UK; they are considering a return to Ireland now that post-Brexit England seems increasingly reactionary and xenophobic, while also being aware of the reactionary forces at work in Irish politics. They are also aware that their daughter, having been brought up in England, may not wish to join them. Have they also been concealing double lives as Irish people in England?

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