Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrates nearly 50 years sober after driving car ‘drunk as a skunk’
Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrates nearly 50 years sober after driving car ‘drunk as a skunk’
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To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Sir Anthony Hopkins has celebrated his 49th year sober after driving a car ‘drunk out of his skull’ forced him to get help.
The Silence of the Lambs legend is about to celebrate his 87th birthday on December 31 but felt this was an important milestone that needed its own shout-out. He posted a short video to his Instagram, revealing that fateful night in 1975 he quit drinking and has never looked back.
’49 years ago today, I stopped,’ Sir Anthony said, explaining to his over 5million followers his reasons for becoming sober. ‘I was having such fun’ he confessed until he realised he was ‘in big, big trouble’ — he was ‘driving a car drunk out of [his] skull.’.
Sir Anthony ‘couldn’t remember anything’ but decided enough was enough and reached out to support groups for alcoholics. ‘On that fatal day, I realised I needed help – so I got it,’ he said. ‘I phoned up a group of people like me – alcoholic. And that was it. Sober.’.
The Thor star, who began his career on stage with Laurence Olivier, added: ‘Anyway, I’ve had more fun these 49 years than ever.’. Since becoming sober, Sir Anthony has starred in the likes of A Bridge Too Far (1977), and 1980’s The Elephant Man.
His best-known role as Dr Hannibal Lecter in 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs landed him two Academy Awards; Best Actor and Best Picture. In 2020, he became the oldest actor to receive an Oscar for Best Actor after his critically acclaimed role in The Father.
