A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: You may be familiar with Anthony Hopkins, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS")
ANTHONY HOPKINS: (As Hannibal Lecter) A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti (vocalizing).
MARTÍNEZ: Or perhaps you've read his memoir or watched films he produced or directed. But have you heard his music?
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "FANFARE AND MARCH")
MARTÍNEZ: This week, he has a new album of orchestral works composed over six decades. They were recorded with London's Philharmonia Orchestra, led by superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Hopkins had a chest cold when we spoke, but that didn't dampen his enthusiasm to talk about his musical beginnings.
HOPKINS: I was born in 1937. In the postwar years, Britain was flooded with MGM musicals. There was Sinatra and Benny Goodman and people like that. And for some reason, it stuck with me so much so that I wanted to compose. And I started composing about 1964.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "AND THE WALTZ GOES ON (ARR. RIEU)")
HOPKINS: I think music's my first love.
MARTÍNEZ: It almost sounds accidental, like it was just a complete - you fell into it almost.
HOPKINS: Any film I was in, I would love to go to the scoring. So I went to see John Barry conduct music for Young Winston. And then a little later, I did a film called "August," and George Fenton came over to the house in London almost 30 years ago. So he said, I hear you compose. Play something for me. I said, no, no, no. He said, just do it 'cause you're a musician. I am? Yeah. So I sat down (ph). He said, that's it. You write the music. Don't think about it. Just do it. And I have (ph) wrote all the music for it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS ET AL.'S "AND THE WALTZ GOES ON (ARR. RIEU)")
MARTÍNEZ: This was something that's been your lifelong passion, but at some point, you did choose to pursue acting professionally and make that the focus of your artistic career. But what was the tipping point, Anthony, that made you say, OK, maybe I put composing off to the side a bit?
HOPKINS: Well, it was a long time ago. I - in 1955, I was 17 in Cardiff. I tried for an audition as an actor in Cardiff College of Music and Drama. I thought, if I can get in as an actor, maybe I can sneak my way into the music department and become a musician. So I did an audition, and I was given a scholarship (laughter) and became an actor.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "FANFARE AND MARCH")
MARTÍNEZ: You open the album with "Fanfare And March," which is a piece full of rich brass chords. It sounds - actually, to tell you the truth, Anthony, when I was listening to it, it sounded cinematic.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "FANFARE AND MARCH")
MARTÍNEZ: I'm wondering, with your acting experience, how much of that goes into composing? Do you ever think about some of these pieces being part of a film?
HOPKINS: No.
MARTÍNEZ: No?
HOPKINS: No. I started in London. I was working with a friend of mine, Steve Barton. He has a studio full of all the synthesizers. And I remember I just want to start with some brass and something big. He said, OK. I put it together, and it suddenly turned into a march and then into a big fanfare. And that's how I write - pure instinct.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "FANFARE AND MARCH")
MARTÍNEZ: You mentioned how, you know, your experiences as a boy have inspired some of this music. "1947: Suite For Solo Piano & Orchestra" - is that inspired by your childhood in South Wales?
HOPKINS: Yes, and it's inspired by going to the cinema with my father and listening to Harry James and Sinatra, and all the great jazz. That was my tribute to a part of my childhood. It's my life in Wales.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "1947: SUITE FOR SOLO PIANO & ORCHESTRA: II. BRACKEN ROAD")
MARTÍNEZ: I remember in 2007, when "Slipstream" came out, the film "Slipstream," that you had pretty much every piece of your fingerprints on it. But I don't remember that you doing the music for "Slipstream" was a big deal. I remember it was kind of like, oh, OK. So Anthony Hopkins wrote music for this.
HOPKINS: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: All this time, it seems like you've been doing this kind of on the down low a little bit, like, almost like you almost didn't want the attention for it. Was - is that hold any water at all, that maybe you weren't seeking too much attention for your music?
HOPKINS: No, I don't give a damn, you know, if...
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
HOPKINS: You know? Well, if people don't like it, tough. I don't care. It's like being an actor. I think, I hope I'm going to be good in this. Who knows? You may be bad. You can't go on stage hoping the audience will like you. Either they'll like you, or they'll hate you. So you think, OK, well, that's your problem. Just do it.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "STELLA ARIA")
MARTÍNEZ: What are your hopes for this music in the future? And I'm wondering because I know that you live at least part of the time in Southern California. Will any future music from you be inspired by Southern California, by Los Angeles, by Malibu?
HOPKINS: Oh, yes. Yeah. We lost our house during the fire, so I'm going to start again in the fall.
MARTÍNEZ: Do you have things already in mind?
HOPKINS: Floating around with my head like buzzing bees.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
HOPKINS: All these ideas, and I just can't wait to get started again. Somebody said, are you ever going to retire? No, I don't want you to retire. Eighty-eight - I wake up in the morning, think, well, I'm still here.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
HOPKINS: So let's have a good day.
MARTÍNEZ: That is Anthony Hopkins. The Oscar-winning actor's releasing an album of orchestral compositions this week. It's called "Life Is A Dream." Anthony Hopkins, thank you so much for giving us the time to talk about this with you.
HOPKINS: Thank you very much.
(SOUNDBITE OF ANTHONY HOPKINS, ET AL.'S "1947: SUITE FOR SOLO PIANO & ORCHESTRA: III. THE PLAZA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
