Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrating 45 years of sobriety

Anthony Hopkins

Anthony Hopkins poses at the premiere of his new film ’The Rite’ in Hollywood, California January 26, 2011. Picture: Reuters/Fred Prouser

Published Dec 30, 2020

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Sir Anthony Hopkins is celebrating 45 years of sobriety on Tuesday.

The “Silence of the Lambs” star shared a special video to his Twitter account on Tuesday to honour the milestone, where he spoke about the "wake up call" he experienced.

He said: "Hello everyone. New year is coming. It's been a tough year, full of grief and sadness for many many people.

“But 45 years ago today, I had a wake up call. I was heading for disaster, drinking myself to death. I'm not preaching - but I got a little message, saying, 'Do you want to live or die?'

“And suddenly the relief came and my life has been amazing. I have my off days and sometimes little days of doubt. But all in all, I say hang in there.

"Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday. Don't give up. Keep fighting. Be bold, the mighty forces will come to your aid. That's all I can say."

Meanwhile, the 82-year-old actor previously insisted he isn't afraid of death.

Asked if he's frightened of death, he said: "Not at all. I've got no choice. What's the point in being frightened? We're all going to die ... It's the inability to use words properly. 'He passed on'.

“What do you mean? He died. There's no respectable way of looking at it.

"When you're dead, you're a lump of meat and you decay very rapidly ... I don't think I will go mad now.

“The best I can say of myself is that I've tunnelled through the mountain of my life and come out the other side.

“I think once you get past the mid-70s and you're in your 80s, then you feel OK because you know your time is limited and you'd better get on with it and enjoy it."

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