Everett Collection
“Now I’m ready to become a god,” says Anthony Hopkins as Emperor Vespasian in the film directed by Roland Emmerich. Those who are about to die.
Of course, as ruler of Rome in 79 CE, the victor of the infamous Year of the Four Emperors was for all intents and purposes a god on Earth. Which is why the portrait of the ancient general who built what we now call the Colosseum by an 86-year-old Welshman widely regarded as our greatest living actor is all the more fitting.
“It was a very big production,” Hopkins says of the epic series that launched July 18 on Peacock from the Independence Day helmer. “That’s good.”
In fact, as the NBCUniversal streamer gears up for the Paris Olympics later this month, the 10-episode first season of Those who are about to die puts the power and prestige of competition in a grandiose perspective. A gladiatorial perspective that offers a cast including Game Of Thrones veterinarian Iwan Rheon, Gabriella Pession and Sara Martins, a clear vision of blood-soaked imperial streets, sex, wealth and power with Hopkins at the center.
RELATED: ‘Those Who Are About to Die’: First Look at Anthony Hopkins and Other Characters From Roland Emmerich’s Roman Empire Series
Anthony Hopkins (Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Insisting on being called Tony, Sir Anthony told me about Those who are about to die, his very unmethodical method acting, Donald Trump’s obsession with Hannibal Lecter, his upcoming autobiography, and doing the right amount of research for a role.
DEADLINE: So, Tony, you’ve played presidents, popes, Freud and Lear. Sure, you’ve played a Norse god and the world’s most famous serial killer, more than once, but now you’re playing a Roman emperor, the founder of the Flavian dynasty, in Roland Emmerich’s novel. Those who are about to die. What attracted you to this role?
ANTHONY HOPKINS: They offered me the role.
DEADLINE: (laughs) And then, how did you do your research for this role?
HOPKINS: I did not do it.
DEADLINE:Did you follow the script strictly?
HOPKINS: Yeah, totally.
I mean, you know, I checked. I had heard of Vespasian and I had heard of Domitian and Titus. I had heard of them, but honestly, I was more interested in the earlier history of Caligula and Tiberius and all the rest of them, and Nero. As far as Vespasian, I didn’t know much about him. So I read a little bit, but now I don’t do a lot of research.
DEADLINE: For what?
HOPKINS: I think it’s a waste of time, it doesn’t do anything, it doesn’t change the cellular structure of the body. What I realized is that with his two sons, he has a problem. They are easily distracted like young children are. So, okay, I’m going to be angry. You have to be very strong and I’m going to save this mess with you.
Peacock
DEADLINE:Unlike many of your contemporaries, you’ve done quite a bit of television over the years. So, in that context, what surprised you about Those who are about to die?
HOPKINS: Well, it’s huge. It was a big, big production. It’s good. I’ve done a couple of TV shows. I did something called The Western World. I liked it too. It’s faster. You have to work twice as hard to get the episodes and all that. On film, you have a little more luxury.
Look, I’m lucky to be in the movie business, and I’m also lucky to continue to make such great movies and TV shows.
DEADLINE: You know, a lot of people today would say how lucky you are to work in an industry where the state is the way it is right now.
HOPKINS: Tell me about it. The pandemic has done a lot of damage. I wake up every morning and I talk to my agent and he says, “Tony, you’re lucky.” I say, yeah, don’t jinx it.
DEADLINE: It is a legend to repeat the same lines over and over in a script until they are memorized. You mentioned earlier that you do research to accompany the script. Is it different with contemporaries or recent living figures like Sir Nicholas George Winton or even Richard Nixon?
HOPKINS: As for Nicholas Winton, I just watched a documentary about him. You know, being a contemporary, I watched the way he walked and things like that. I tried to get a feel for the way he sang. I have a pretty good ear for that, even though I’m from Wales and he’s not.
With Nixon, and especially with Nixon, I watched endless documentaries about Nixon and his farewell to the White House. But that’s it.
Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon and Joan Allen as Pat Nixon in “Nixon” (Buena Vista/Everett Collection)
DEADLINE: It’s incredible…
HOPKINS: Well, thank you. I don’t do extensive research and I think you just have to learn the text. I think doing a lot of research doesn’t help. It can be entertaining for your intellect, but in the end, it doesn’t help you at all.
DEADLINE: Do you think this could confuse the process?
HOPKINS: I think so. Yeah. Yeah. Because if you take it too seriously, then you say, but he did this and that, it drives the director crazy. I don’t need that. Yeah, some actors say let’s just go straight to it. I say, can’t you just say the lines?
DEADLINE: You must love delivering lines, because you have so many projects going on right now. With everything you’ve accomplished, with two Oscars, a knighthood and so much more, why?
HOPKINS: Why? Because I’m lucky to be alive.
I’m 86 years old and I wake up in the morning and think, “Oh, I’m still here.” I have a mischievous side about it.
Unfortunately, I’m going to look back at my contemporaries, many of them are gone, you know, God bless them. But no, I’m just very grateful to be here. The wonderful thing is that the freedom that I have now allows me to know for sure that I can’t take credit for anything.
DEADLINE: Oh!
HOPKINS: No, 60 years ago, sixty years ago, I remember saying to my parents, “One day I’ll show them.” For some reason, someone else wrote my life. I didn’t write it.
DEADLINE: Maybe, but you are writing it right now. How is the autobiography going?
HOPKINS: I got some good answers, but it’s not over yet.
DEADLINE: Are you working on it right now?
HOPKINS: I’m taking a break for a few weeks. I’m leaving next week. So I’m going to start writing it again after that. It’s hard.
DEADLINE: How?
HOPKINS: It’s a process that I don’t enjoy, I don’t like doing it. But hey, part of me enjoys it.
DEADLINE: Which part do you like?
HOPKINS: The process of self-discovery. I discovered a lot about my childhood, which was good.
You know, I’m a lucky guy.
I’ve had the best opportunities in life, even though I didn’t always deserve them because I was pretty stupid in school and all that. My parents gave me a good education, my dad, my mom, but they sacrificed a lot for me. I tended to disappoint them. Then one day I said, “I’ll show you.” And they lived long enough to see it, which was great.
DEADLINE: Watching your performance of this old man running an empire and maneuvering for position, especially among his two sons, it seemed like there was some Joe Biden in your Vespasian, reigns in the last year of his reign.
HOPKINS: No, but interesting.
But I will say there’s a scene on the balcony where I don’t look very clear. I think it’s just an idea, I think it was written in the script that I’m starting to lose my mind, you know. It was just written in the script. So, I just went with the flow and pretended like I didn’t know where I was going or where I was. But I’ve learned that can happen at any age. So, no, I wasn’t aware of that Biden aspect at all.
Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” (Everett Collection)
DEADLINE:I have to mention one of your greatest characters, Hannibal Lecter…
HOPKINS: For what?
DEADLINE: Because he has come up a lot during this election campaign here in America, when Donald Trump has spoken about him at his rallies as if he were a real person.
HOPKINS: As if it were real?
DEADLINE: Yes.
HOPKINS: (Laughter) I didn’t know that. (Laughter again.) Hannibal, that movie was a long time ago. My God, it was over 30 years ago. I’m shocked and appalled by what you told me about Trump.
DEADLINE: sorry about that.
HOPKINS: Oh, everything is fine. I think we are doing well. I have enjoyed it so far. I am sorry that I cannot elaborate on what I do. I have always kept things very simple, especially in recent years.
DEADLINE: There’s nothing wrong with something simple and sweet…
HOPKINS: I know my answers may offend some people. People say, “How can you say that?” Well, it’s easy because I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’m just lucky to be alive and doing what I do. I’m constantly surprised that I’m still here. I’m still doing it. So I tell my friends: stay healthy, stay strong.
DEADLINE: It could be that strong Welsh blood and spirit.
HOPKINS: Yeah I think so.