Anthony Hopkins is one of the most celebrated actors of all time and has a list of dozens of amazing performances to his name, dating all the way back to the 1960s! Today we are going to look at the best Anthony Hopkins roles of all time – which is easier said than done when there are so many to choose from.
With a career spanning decades like this, narrowing down this list was tough, so tough that chances are no two top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles lists will be the same! Please keep that in mind while reading our list and be sure to come up with your own list of his best performances.
Number 10 – The Narrator, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2000
This one with a real personal pick and one that many people may be raising their eyebrows at, but hear me out. Could you imagine the awesome 2000 Ron Howard directed, Jim Carrey starring How the Grinch Stole Christmas without Anthony Hopkins’ narration?
It starts the movie off perfectly and his subtle tone and dramatic way of speaking really is the cherry on the top of this festive ice cream cake. So before you dismiss this being on this top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles list ask yourself if you could imagine this Christmas classic without Anthony Hopkins!
Number 9 – Van Helsing, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992
While most people remember that Gary Oldman, Keanu Reeves, and Winona Ryder are all in the iconic gothic horror movie that is Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the next name on that list should always be Anthony Hopkins.
In this movie, Hopkins plays the role of Van Helsing, arguably the most famous vampire and monster hunter of all time. While he may not play Van Helsing with the same action heroics that Hugh Jackman would a decade later, he gives a real sense of rawness and realism to the character and he does actually get to do a bit of vampire slaying himself. This is a great role and one that he does not get the credit he deserves.
Number 8 – John Quincy Adams, Amistad, 1997
You could not have a list of the top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles without his turn as former President Adams on it! Amistad is a very powerful historical drama about a ship of slaves who managed to mutiny and take over the ship, only to be recaptured and put on trial with their lives literally on the line.
This is a very hard-hitting movie and Anthony Hopkins really gets to showcase his acting chops by putting on a very convincing accent along with a limp. His big courtroom speech in this movie is incredible. Also, a side note about Amistad is that while this is a critically acclaimed movie, many people overlook the fact this is actually a Steven Spielberg movie!
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Number 7 – Odin, Thor, 2011
While I from 2011 is being specifically mentioned here, to be honest, this is a culmination of the three times that he played Odin in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original Thor was part of the first phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and getting an actor the caliber of Anthony Hopkins was a huge get.
These days people are falling over themselves to be part of the MCU, but Anthony Hopkins was there before it fully took off. His performance as Odin takes you through so many parts of the emotional spectrum. You get to see him as a powerful and wise leader, but at the same time, you can tell that he has been ruthless and downright barbaric in the past to do what he felt was right for the people of Asgard.
Number 6 – Ted Crawford, Fracture, 2007
2007’s Fracture is a bit of a double whammy as not only is this one of the top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles, but this could also be classed as one of the most fun and exciting thrillers that keeps you guessing.
What we have here is Anthony Hopkins playing the role of a wealthy guy called Ted who finds out that his wife is having an affair with a cop – and he shoots her in the head! What is crazy is that he confesses to all of this… knowing full well he has a cunning plan to get off scot-free. Going head to head with him and trying to put him away is a hot-shot lawyer played by Ryan Gosling.
Number 5 – Anthony Evans, The Father, 2020
Out of all the movies on this list, The Father is the absolute most heartbreaking! Released in 2020, this showed that even in his 80s, Anthony Hopkins is one of the greatest actors around. The Father is about a man called Anthony (which is kind of funny), but there is nothing “fun” about this movie.
Anthony is an old man who is living with dementia and we see the events of the movie through his eyes and how confusing and heartbreaking the condition is. You never fully know what is real, what is a memory, and what is something he is not remembering properly. Olivia Coleman is also amazing in this movie, but it is Anthony Hopkins who is absolutely going to break your heart! Make sure you have something fun and lighthearted lined up after you have watched this.
Number 4 – Corky/Fats, Magic, 1978
Before he was terrorizing people as Hannibal Lecter in the 90s, Anthony Hopkins was terrorizing audiences with this 1978 thriller/horror movie, Magic!
In this movie, Anthony Hopkins plays the role of a man called Corky who has dreams of becoming a magician. To help with this, he uses a dummy and adds ventriloquism to his act, calling the dummy Fats. Well, turns out that Corky is kind of nuts and Fats starts speaking to him and has him doing all kinds of deranged stuff.
What is fun about this role is that he not only plays Corky, but he does the voice for Fats as well. Magic had to make this top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles list, but this is a movie that many modern movie lovers are not aware of. If you want to see a crazier, more sinister performance, check this movie out!
Number 3 – Charles Morse, The Edge, 1997
The Edge from 1997 is a fantastic survival thriller movie where Anthony Hopkins plays the role of a very wealthy man called Charles. Charles is married to a much younger model (the beautiful Elle Macpherson) and for a fashion shoot, they are heading to the wilderness.
Well, during a remote plane ride that goes wrong, Charles and two other guys (played by Alec Baldwin and Harold Perrineau) end up stuck deep in the woods, freezing with no hope for survival. They have to deal with the extreme cold as well as a bear that is hunting them down! To add to the tension, Charles has suspicions that Alec Baldwin’s character, Robert has been having an affair with his wife!
Number 2 – Frederick Treves, The Elephant Man, 1980
Sure, it may be John Hurt as John Merrick that the majority of people think of when discussing The Elephant Man. However, Anthony Hopkins as Frederick Treves, the man who takes John from the freakshow world to the hospital, is arguably the heart of this movie.
This is such a powerful and incredible story, and it is one of those “older” movies that truly has not aged as the story is so well told. Anthony Hopkins is the heart and soul of this movie and you can tell that he truly wants to help John and make him see that he can live a good life. This is one of those movies where you well and truly will be claiming to have something in your eye as you rub it while the credits are rolling!
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Number 1 – Dr. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
Chances are as soon as you started reading this top 10 Anthony Hopkins roles list, you knew that Dr. Hannibal Lecter was going to be waiting for you at the number one spot with some liver along with a side of fava beans!
To say that this performance is bone chilling is the understatement of the year. He would even get to reprise the role nearly a decade later in Hannibal. What makes this such a great performance is the way that Hopkins can go from being calm and collected one second to being absolutely brutal and psychotic the next. What is crazy about it is that even when he is bludgeoning some guy to death and has a crazy look in his eye, you truly believe that he knows exactly what he is doing. There have been some great movie monsters over the decades, but Dr. Hannibal Lecter is arguably one of the most terrifying.