Read update
- Anthony Hopkins has won two Academy Awards over his career as an actor, with an impressive six nominations. His most recent win came with The Father, and the actor shows no signs of slowing down now. His most recent movie was the coming-of-age drama Armageddon Time, which has Hopkins playing the grandfather of a Jewish-American student sent to a boarding school for smoking cannabis, where he is immediately met with prejudice. This gives Hopkins yet another option for more awards recognition. He also has another movie coming soon called The Son, which re-teams him with Florian Zeller, the director of The Father.
Sir Anthony Hopkins has been acting in movies since 1967 after a few years on the stage. Through his illustrious career, he's become one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. At the age of 81, Hopkins has picked up several accolades in his career, including four Oscar nominations with one win for Silence of the Lambs.
Add in five Emmy nominations with two wins and seven Golden Globe nominations with one win, and Hopkins has proven time and time again that he is one of the best in the business at what he does. With a career that includes historical movies (Amistad), biopics (Nixon), genre fare (Bram Stoker's Dracula), and even mainstream blockbusters (Thor), these are the best Anthony Hopkins movies according to IMDb.
UPDATE: 2022/10/31 12:12 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS
Anthony Hopkins has won two Academy Awards over his career as an actor, with an impressive six nominations. His most recent win came with The Father, and the actor shows no signs of slowing down now. His most recent movie was the coming-of-age drama Armageddon Time, which has Hopkins playing the grandfather of a Jewish-American student sent to a boarding school for smoking cannabis, where he is immediately met with prejudice. This gives Hopkins yet another option for more awards recognition. He also has another movie coming soon called The Son, which re-teams him with Florian Zeller, the director of The Father.
15 Amistad (1997) - 7.3
Stream now on Fubo
In 1997, Anthony Hopkins appeared in the Steven Spielberg historical epic, Amistad. The movie was about the transportation of Black enslaved people off the coast of Cuba when one of the captives led an uprising against the crew, killing many of them. When they end up in U.S. waters, they are arrested and tried for piracy and murder.
Hopkins stars in the movie as former US president and serving U.S. representative John Quincy Adams, a brilliant attorney who declines to represent them in the case. However, when current US president Martin Van Buren tries to railroad the case, Adams gets involved and helps plan out a strategy and finally takes on the case when it moves up to the Supreme Court.
14 A Bridge Too Far (1977) - 7.4
Stream now on DirecTV
Anthony Hopkins was just one of many famous actors to star in Richard Attenborough's A Bridge Too Far. This was an epic war film that showcased Operation Market Garden, the failed Allied operation in World War II. While the movie served as an actors' showcase for names like James Caan, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, and Sean Connery, Hopkins carried his own weight in the movie as well.
He starred as Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost, one of the commanding officers. While the movie received a lot of praise and is recognized as a classic, only Edward Fox received awards recognition for his acting.
13 Howard's End (1992) - 7.4
Stream now on Tubi & Kanopy
Anthony Hopkins starred in the 1992 Merchant Ivory Production Howard's End. The movie was a period romantic drama with Anthony Hopkins starring as Henry Wilcox, the wealthy leader of the intellectual and bourgeoisie Wilcox family.
Hopkins ended up working alongside the then lesser-known Emma Thompson, and while he wasn't recognized for the performance by the Academy Awards, both Thompson and Vanessa Redgrave received nominations, with Thompson winning for Best Actress. The movie is among the best Merchant Ivory films, and Hopkins played a big role.
12 Shadowlands (1993) - 7.4
Rent now on Apple TV & Prime Video
Shadowlands came out one year after Howard's End and is a lesser-known Anthony Hopkins movie, even though it is based on a real-life icon. Hopkins played C.S. Lewis, the author who wrote The Chronicles of Narnia, while Debra Winger played his wife, poet Joy Davidman. The movie chronicled how her death from cancer challenged his outlook on life and his own Christianity.
Directed by Richard Attenborough (A Bridge Too Far), the movie was a critical success. Winger picked up an Oscar nomination and Hopkins received a BAFTA nomination for his performance.
11 Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) - 7.4
Stream now on DirecTV
Directed by Frances Ford Coppola, Bram Stoker's Dracula retells the story of Dracula as a melodrama. Coppola cast two iconic actors as the main rivals in the movie, with Gary Oldman taking on the role of Dracula and Anthony Hopkins as the legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing.
The movie picked up four Oscar nominations, winning three of them — all for the design of the film. However, the actors received praise as well, with Oldman winning Best Actor at the Saturn Awards and Hopkins picking up a nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
10 The Two Popes (2019) - (7.5)
Stream now on Netflix
The Two Popes marked an interesting evolution in Hopkins' career that has reflected the change in the film industry itself, as its wider release actually came on streaming giant Netflix rather than in theaters. That clearly hasn't affected the critical and fan success of the movie though.
In the film, Anthony Hopkins stars as Pope Benedict SVI while Johnathan Pryce stars as the future Pope Francis. Not only does the film hold a high IMDb score, but the two lead actors are largely credited for its praise.
9 Legends of the Fall (1994) - 7.5
Released in 1994 and directed by Edward Zwick, Legends of the Fall had an all-star cast with Anthony Hopkins starring as Col. William Ludlow, a man who was sickened at how the United States government continued to lie to and betray the Native American tribes. He moved to Montana to raise his family.
The movie follows the lives of William and his sons (played by Brad Pitt and Aidan Quinn) as they navigate their lives in a corrupt and lawless society. The film picked up three Oscar nominations (winning for Best Cinematography) and several Golden Globes nominations, including one for Best Actor for Brad Pitt.
8 Chaplin (1992) - 7.5
Stream now on HBO Max
Before Robert Downey Jr.'s fall and meteoric rise in the entertainment industry, he proved what the future could hold in store for the actor. In 1992, Richard Attenborough directed a biopic about the biggest comedy actor in Hollywood during the silent film era — Charlie Chaplin.
The movie, Chaplin, starred Downey Jr. in the titular role that earned him Oscar and Golden Globes nominations as well as a BAFTA win for Best Actor. In the movie, Anthony Hopkins starred as a fictional character — George Hayden, Chaplin's biography editor.
7 The World's Fastest Indian (2006) - 7.8
Stream now on Fubo & Hoopla
Released in 2005, Anthony Hopkins took on the role of real-life New Zealand motorcycle racer Burt Munro. In 1967, Munro set the under-1,000 cc world record — a record that still stands to this day. The biopic was written, directed, and produced by Roger Donaldson, a film he had been working on developing for over 20 years.
Hopkins said that his role as Burt Munro was an easy one for him since the two men have very similar views on life. The film itself is set up as an inspirational sports story with the Bonneville run, which was comprised of several runs the real Munro made in his life.
6 The Remains of the Day (1993) - 7.8
Rent now on Apple TV & Prime Video
In 1993, Anthony Hopkins starred in a Merchant Ivory production, The Remains of the Day. James Ivory directed the film, adapted from the 1989 novel of the same name. Hopkins stars as James Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall, and Emma Thompson stars as Miss Kenton, a former colleague whose employer died after his reputation was destroyed when the public learned he was a Nazi sympathizer.
The Remains of the Day received eight Oscar nominations but shockingly won none. Both Hopkins and Thompson picked up Oscar nominations for their performances.
5 The Lion in the Winter (1968) - 7.9
Rent now on Apple TV & Prime Video
In 1968, Anthony Hopkins starred in what was only his second theatrical movie role in The Lion in the Winter (his debut was in The White Bus the previous year). It was a role that Hopkins was ready for as it was based on the Broadway play of the same name, and Hopkins made initially his name in theater work.
Peter O'Toole stars as King Henry II, while Katherine Hepburn is the estranged Queen Eleanor. Anthony Hopkins is the eldest surviving son Richard the Lionheart, who Eleanor wants to become King, while Henry II wants his youngest son, John, to become the king.
4 Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - 7.9
Stream now on Disney+
While Hopkins is obviously known for more artistic and literary film roles, he took on the MCU with Thor: Ragnarok. The success with IMDb voters comes as no surprise here, as Ragnarok is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed projects in the massive franchise.
Of course, in the Thor franchise, Anthony Hopkins portrayed Odin, the Norse Allfather and the dad to Thor and Loki. He appeared in the first two Thor films, dying in the third when his time in this realm came to an end, and he moved on to the other side. It was a great farewell for the elder God.
3 The Elephant Man (1980) - 8.1
Stream now on Hoopla & Pluto TV
David Lynch directed The Elephant Man, a biopic about a man named Joseph Merrick. The film starred John Hurt as "John" Merrick, a man with a severe deformity that makes him look monstrous to those around him. However, when a doctor named Frederick Treves brings him in for testing, he learns he is much smarter than anyone believed.
Anthony Hopkins portrays Treves in the movie, and while he aids Merrick, he is never able to escape his past as a part of a Freak Show, nor can he evade the abusive alcoholic who runs it. The film earned eight Oscar nominations but did not win any.
2 The Father (2020) - 8.2
Stream now on Starz
One of Anthony Hopkins most recent films ended up as one of his highest-rated. In 2020, Hopkins starred in The Father, which premiered as Sundance before moving on to a theatrical release. Hopkins won an Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of Anthony Miller, a man with dementia who has driven away most of his caretakers.
The movie was set up in Anthony's point of view, which means the viewer remained confused through much of the running time about what was really happening. Hopkins turned in an incredible performance as a man who had no idea what was real and not, and he masterfully portrayed his confusion at his entire living situation.
1 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 8.6
Stream now on Prime Video
Silence of the Lambs is one of the rare instances where a genre movie won the Oscar for Best Original Picture. The movie, directed by Jonathan Demme, introduced the world to Hannibal Lecter. Based on the novel by Thomas Harris, the film follows an FBI agent (Jodie Foster) who is trying to catch a serial killer by interviewing Lecter, a cannibalistic serial killer, in prison.
Silence of the Lambs became only the third film to win all four of the top Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress), and up until recently, it was Hopkins only win at the Oscars. Hopkins' role as Hannibal is widely considered one of the greatest villains in movie history.