Anthony Hopkins may have built his Hollywood career in the United States, but his thoughts frequently return to where his story began.
The 88-year-old actor recently opened up about his connection to his native Wales and his desire to visit again. Hopkins, who grew up in Port Talbot before eventually moving to the United States and becoming a U.S. citizen in 2000, revealed that he regularly revisits his childhood neighborhood virtually.
“I’m always going back there,” Hopkins told ITV News during an interview tied to the August release of his first music album, according to HELLO! Magazine.
Anthony Hopkins Says ‘Time Is Running Out’ to Return to Wales
Hopkins explained that Google Maps allows him to virtually travel through the streets he remembers from his childhood.
“I go to streets and move up the street, the photographs of my streets in Wales,” he said. “I’m always going back there.”
The two-time Oscar winner said it has been two years since he last visited Wales, but his affection for his home country remains strong.
“I haven’t been there for two years, but I love going back there,” Hopkins said. “There’s no time really. Time is running out.”
While Hopkins acknowledged that walking around the area has become more difficult as he has gotten older, that has not stopped him from returning to those memories.
“I wish I could just get out and walk around but I’m getting a bit too old for that,” he said, adding that “most days I’m back there somehow.”
GettyAnthony Hopkins Turns Childhood Memories Into Music
Hopkins’ connection to Wales also plays an important role in his music.
The actor released his first album, “Life Is A Dream,” in August. According to HELLO! Magazine, the project features compositions Hopkins has worked on across six decades and draws inspiration from his childhood in Port Talbot.
Hopkins began playing piano at 4 and later studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.
One of the album’s songs, “Bracken Road,” takes inspiration from his childhood memories of Margam in South Wales, including the streets, farmland, meadows and mountains that surrounded his family home during the 1940s.
“Music was my first desire, my first wish, I’ve been composing music all my life,” Hopkins said.
He added that some compositions remained with him for decades before finding their place on the album.
Anthony Hopkins Built His Hollywood Dream in America
Hopkins moved to the United States during the 1970s as he pursued his acting career.
His work eventually earned him two Academy Awards, while Hollywood honored him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.
Despite decades of success thousands of miles away from Port Talbot, Hopkins continues finding ways to reconnect with the place where he grew up.
For the actor, those trips home do not always require a plane ticket. Whether through his music, childhood memories or virtual walks through familiar Welsh streets, Hopkins continues keeping his earliest home close.
