Anthony Hopkins

Born in Port Talbot, South Wales, in 1937, Hopkins joined a local drama club at 17 before attending the Welsh College of Music and Drama.

A RADA scholarship led to an audition in front of Olivier for a position at the National Theatre, which he won. His first major film role was that of Richard the Lionheart in 1968’s The Lion In Winter, but the 70s and 80s provided mostly TV work.

He hit the big time when Gene Hackman turned down the role of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, and his Oscar-winning performance led to three more nominations in six years.

Born: 31 December 1937 in Margam, Port Talbot, Glamorgan, Wales, UK