Being an actor is peculiar: Anthony Hopkins

Actor Anthony Hopkins, known for his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs", says being an actor is a "very peculiar business".

Hopkins will be back on the small screen with Jonathan Nolan's "Westworld", which will premiere in India on Star World Premiere HD on Tuesday.

Hopkins will be seen playing role of an enigmatic doctor Robert Ford, who has both a fascination with the creatures he has brought to life and a casual disregard for them.

Asked what attracted him to the project, Hopkins said he has no idea.

"Well, my agent phoned one day and said would you like to be in 'Westworld'? I said, 'What, the old movie?' She said, 'It's HBO' - and I hadn't done television in years. They sent me the script and I said: 'Play Doctor Ford? It's very complicated'. But I said I'd do it - and that was back in 2014," Hopkins said in a statement.

He added: "When people ask me, you know, at these interviews - and I've done many over the years - 'Why did you become an actor?' I say, 'Well, it beats working, doesn't it?' And they say, 'What?' Well, it beats working for a living.

"They say, 'Why did you take this part?' Well, nobody else will do it. It baffles them because they wanted me to give a controlled answer: 'Well, I did it because of the arc of the part and the narrative'. But I said, 'I have no idea'. And it's not a pose - I mean it. It's a very peculiar business, being an actor."

The Oscar-winning star said he is not cynical, but "it's just that I don't have any opinions about anything anymore".

"Maybe that's just ignorance, but I don't care," added the 78-year-old actor.

--IANS

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