We Did Ok, Kid

A Memoir

Anthony Hopkins

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN:
  9781761634826
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies

Academy Award-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins delves into his illustrious film and theatre career, difficult childhood and path to sobriety in his honest, moving and long-awaited memoir.

Born and raised in Port Talbot – a small Welsh steelworks town – amid war and depression, Sir Anthony Hopkins grew up around men who were tough, to say the least, and eschewed all forms of emotional vulnerability in favor of alcoholism and brutality. A struggling student in school, he was deemed by his peers, his parents and other adults as a failure with no future ahead of him. But, on a fateful Saturday night, the disregarded Welsh boy watched the 1948 adaptation of Hamlet, sparking a passion for acting that would lead him on a path that no one could have predicted.

With candour and a voice that is both arresting and vulnerable, Sir Anthony recounts his various career milestones and provides a once-in-a-lifetime look into the brilliance behind some of his most iconic roles. His performance as Iago gets him admitted into the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and places him under the wing of Laurence Olivier. He meets Richard Burton by chance as a young boy in his art teacher’s apartment, and later, backstage before a performance of Equus as an established actor meeting his hero. His iconic portrayal of Hannibal Lecter was informed by the creepy performance of Bela Lugosi in Dracula and the razor-sharp precision of his acting teacher. He pulls raw emotion from the stoicism of his father and grandfather for an unforgettable performance in King Lear.

Sir Anthony also takes a deeply honest look at the low points in his personal life. His addiction cost him his first marriage, his relationship with his only child, and nearly his life – the latter ultimately propelling him toward sobriety, a commitment he has maintained for nearly half a century. He constantly battles against the desire to move through life alone and avoid connection for fear of getting hurt – much like the men in his family – and as the years go by, he deals with questions of mortality, getting ready to discover what his father called The Big Secret.

Featuring a special collection of personal photographs throughout, We Did OK, Kid is a raw and passionate memoir from a complex, iconic man who has inspired audiences with remarkable performances for over sixty years.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Introduction: We Did Ok, Kid
• Chapter One: Elephant Head
• Chapter Two: Ninety-Three Million Miles Away
• Chapter Three: The Crow
• Chapter Four: April Fools’ Day
• Chapter Five: Terrazzo. Terrazzo. Terrazzo.
• Chapter Six: Dumb Insolence
• Chapter Seven: Show Up Or Else
• Chapter Eight: Just Passing Through
• Chapter Nine: A Drifter
• Chapter Ten: Cunning Welsh Fox
• Chapter Eleven: You’re the Star of the Show
• Chapter Twelve: The Days of Wine and Roses
• Chapter Thirteen: Think. Be Sensible
• Chapter Fourteen: That’ll Kill You
• Chapter Fifteen: New York
• Chapter Sixteen: The Ship Inn
• Chapter Seventeen: Death Will Come When It Comes
• Chapter Eighteen: He’s Human, And That Makes Him Scarier
• Chapter Nineteen: Fava Beans and A Nice Chianti
• Chapter Twenty: Life, Life, Life!
• Chapter Twenty-One: The Ticktock of Voices in My Head
• Chapter Twenty-Two: The Cadillac Smile
• Chapter Twenty-Three: Nothing Will Come of Nothing
• Chapter Twenty-Four: Keep Your Talent in the Shade
• Chapter Twenty-Five: The Older I Get, The Less I Know
• Tributes
• Photographs
• Appendix: Anthony Hopkins’s Commonplace Poetry Book
• About the Author
• Credits
• Copyright