Actors
Hopkins, Sir Anthony (1937- ), British stage and motion-picture actor, admired for his ability to play a wide range of characters. Hopkins was born in Port Talbot, South Wales, and educated at Cardiff College of Drama and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. From the mid-1960s through the mid-1970s he appeared frequently at the National Theatre in London, receiving critical acclaim for his performances in the plays of William Shakespeare and others. He made his screen debut in The White Bus (1967) and played Richard the Lion-Hearted in his first major film, The Lion in Winter (1968). Hopkins's notable work includes A Doll's House (1973); Richard Lester's Juggernaut (1975); The Elephant Man (1980); Commander Bligh in The Bounty (1984); and roles in The Good Father (1987) and 84 Charing Cross Road (1987). In 1991 his career and public image were boosted by his commanding role in Jonathan Demme's The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins's brilliant performance as the serial killer Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter won him legions of fans and an Academy Award.
Hopkins has not been typecast and defined by a single achievement. Since The Silence of the Lambs, he has given critically acclaimed performances in Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, 1993), and Shadowlands (1993). His other films include Legends of the Fall (1994), The Road to Wellville (1994), and Nixon (Academy Award nomination for best actor, 1995), directed by American filmmaker Oliver Stone. In 1996 he directed, scored, and starred in the film August, an adaptation of the play Uncle Vanya (1899) by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Hopkins was knighted in 1992.
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Connery, Sean (1930- ), British motion-picture actor, best known for his portrayal of James Bond, secret agent 007, in the films based on the spy novels of British writer Ian Fleming. Born Thomas Sean Connery in Edinburgh, Scotland, he was employed in various manual jobs until his appearances in body-building competitions led to a job in the chorus of the London theater production of South Pacific (1951). In 1956 Connery began taking small roles in motion pictures. He played his first leading role in the film Another Time Another Place in 1958.
Connery gained wide popularity as a result of his performance in the role of James Bond in Doctor No (1963). Lead roles in five more Bond films followed: From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). In attempts to escape being typecast, or repeatedly cast, as Bond, he took on more varied roles in such films as Marnie (1964), directed by American filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock; The Hill (1965), by American director Sydney Lumet; The Anderson Tapes (1972); Murder on the Orient Express (1974), based on the novel by English writer Agatha Christie; and The Man Who Would Be King (1975), directed by American filmmaker John Huston. He returned in the role of James Bond in Never Say Never Again (1983).
In 1987 Connery won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in The Untouchables (1987). He went on to star as the hero's father in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Connery also starred in the popular films The Name of the Rose (1986), Highlander (1986), The Russia House (1990), Medicine Man (1992), Rising Sun (1993), First Knight (1995), and Just Cause (1995).
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2002. © 1993-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Pacino, Al (1940- ), American motion-picture and stage actor, best known for his work in Hollywood gangster films. He is distinguished by his willingness to appear in risky productions and unusual roles.
Born Alfredo Pacino in New York City, he dropped out of Manhattan's High School for Performing Arts at the age of 17. He continued his acting studies, however, first at the Herbert Berghof Studio and later at Actors Studio (headed by American director and actor Lee Strasberg), while working at various jobs and appearing in off-Broadway productions (see Broadway). Dark, wiry, and passionate, Pacino was ideally suited for the gritty urban stage dramas popular in the 1960s. He won an Obie Award (presented for off-Broadway theater work) in 1968 for his role as a psychotic alcoholic in The Indian Wants the Bronx, and he won a Tony Award in 1969 for his performance as a drug addict in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? He again played an addict in his first important motion-picture role, the victimized antihero of The Panic in Needle Park (1971).
For his portrayal of the ambivalent heir to a Mafia dynasty in the gangster epic The Godfather (1972), written and directed by American filmmaker Fra...