Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard Anthony Hopkins
21 snips
Nov 10, 2025 
In this engaging conversation, Sir Anthony Hopkins, the celebrated Academy Award-winning actor, shares insights from his memoir, We Did Okay, Kid. He reflects on his childhood during WWII in Wales and the challenges of feeling like an outsider. Hopkins recounts a pivotal moment at the YMCA that ignited his acting career, the impact of Laurence Olivier's mentorship, and his journey to sobriety. He offers powerful advice for young people about perseverance and self-belief, while also revealing his passion for music and painting.
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Scholarship After Being Called Hopeless
- Anthony Hopkins recounts being labeled hopeless at school and promising his parents he would prove them wrong.
- Within months he won a scholarship to acting despite never having acted before.
War Childhood Shaped Worldview
- Growing up during WWII made wartime danger feel simultaneously terrifying and strangely exciting to Hopkins.
- He connects those early experiences to a lifelong awareness of human savagery and historical cycles.
YMCA Line That Changed Trajectory
- Hopkins describes wandering into a YMCA rehearsal and getting a single line in a play: "Blessed are the meek...".
- That tiny role gave him his first taste of stage acceptance and shifted his outlook.
