Anthony Hopkins, one of cinema’s most celebrated actors, has surprised fans by signing a recording contract with Decca Classics to release an album featuring orchestral works he composed over the past few decades. The album’s first single, ‘Bracken Road,’ was released this July 10, while the full 12-track classical album, titled ‘Life is a Dream,’ will come out this August. The album will be conducted by Gustavo Dudamel and be performed by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra.
"Music was my first desire, my first wish," Hopkins said in a statement about the album. "I’ve been composing music all my life. Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them."
The composition pieces in the album are inspired by traditional Welsh melodies, Hopkins’ work in cinema, his wife, and his niece.
Indeed, Sir Anthony Hopkins is an incredibly creative and prolific individual, who is considered one of cinema's most esteemed actors. Known for his defining role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in 1991's 'The Silence of the Lambs,' for which he received his first Academy Award for Best Actor, Hopkins has also won numerous other honors across the BAFTAs, Emmys, and the Golden Globes.
In 2020, he added another golden statuette to his collection when he was awarded his second Best Actor Oscar for his role in 'The Father' and made history as the oldest acting Oscar winner ever, taking the prize at age 83.
Browse the following gallery for an appreciation of the man described as "the greatest actor of his generation."