Anthony Hopkins

Co-starred in the dramatic thriller, "Fracture" as a man who confessed to killing his cheating wife

Feature debut as a screenwriter with "Slipstream"; also directed, produced and starred in the film as a Hollywood screenwriter who begins to confuse his own life with the characters he is creating on the page; premiered at the Sundance Film Festival

Portrayed King Hrothgar in Robert Zemeckis' big-budget film version of "Beowulf"

Cast as the hotel doorman in Emilio Estevez's directorial debut, "Bobby," an ensemble centered around the night of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination

Cast in Steven Zaillian's big-screen adaptation of "All the King's Men"

Co-starred in the film adaptation of David Auburn's play "Proof" directed by John Madden and starring with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal

Cast as Ptolemy in Oliver Stone's "Alexander"

Cast to play a fair-skin African American who pretends to be white to avoid the 40's racism in "The Human Stain"

Once again essayed Hannibal Lecter in "Red Dragon"

Teamed with Chris Rock in the action comedy "Bad Company"

Acted in Baldwin's feature directorial debut, the remake of "The Devil and Daniel Webster"

Reprised Oscar-winning role in the film adaptation of "Hannibal," Thomas Harris' sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs"

Narrated the live-action version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

Starred opposite Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible II," the John Woo-directed sequel to "Mission: Impossible"

Had title role in "Titus," Julie Taymor's film version of "Titus Andronicus"

Played anthropologist Dr Ethan Powell in "Instinct"

Reteamed with Brad Pitt for "Meet Joe Black," loosely based on "Death Takes a Holiday"

Teamed with Antonio Banderas for the remake "The Mask of Zorro"

Portrayed John Quincy Adams in Steven Spielberg's "Amistad"; received Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor

Feature directorial debut, "August" an adaptation of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya"; also starred and composed score

Third collaboration with Merchant-Ivory, "Surviving Picasso"; played title role

Received third Best Actor Oscar nomination for title role in "Nixon," directed by Oliver Stone

Cast as the patriarch to Brad Pitt, Henry Thomas and Aidan Quinn in "Legends of the Fall"

Delivered an over-the-top performance as John W Kellogg in Alan Parker's "The Road to Wellville"

Fifth collaboration to date with Attenborough, "Shadowlands"

Garnered second Academy Award nomination for his performance as a repressed English butler in "The Remains of the Day"

Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

First movie with director James Ivory, the sumptuous and stimulating adaptation of E M Forster's "Howards End"

Provided the voice of Marcus Crassus (subbing for the late Lord Olivier) in the restored version of "Spartacus"

Won Oscar for his chilling portrait as killer Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter in "The Silence of the Lambs"

Played Magwich in The Disney Channel miniseries "Great Expectations"

Delivered a strong performance in the title role of "The Good Father"

Co-starred in the ABC miniseries "Hollywood Wives"

Returned to the London stage as star of "Pravda"

Portrayed mild-mannered British bookseller in David Jones' loving, literate and totally disarming film "84 Charing Cross Road"; starred opposite Anne Bancroft

Returned to England after a decade in the USA

Made debut as a conductor with the New Symphony Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall on March 21

Starred in the title role in the CBS adaptation of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

Earned second Emmy for his portrayal of Hitler in "The Bunker"

Portrayed Dr Frederick Treves in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man"

Starred as Captain Christopher Jones in "Mayflower: The Pilgrim's Adventure"

Delivered a strong performance as a ventriloquist in "Magic"

Won an Emmy as Bruno Richard Hauptmann in the TV-movie "The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case"

Broadway debut, "Equus"

Co-starred in the ABC miniseries "QB VII"

First of many collaborations with director Richard Attenborough in "Young Winston"

Played Claudius to Nicol Williamson's "Hamlet"

Feature film debut, "The Lion in Winter"

TV debut, "A Heritage and Its History"

Film debut in Lindsay Anderson's short, "The White Bus"

London stage debut, "Julius Caesar" at the Royal Court Theater

Stage debut in "The Quare Fellow" at the Library Theatre in Manchester, England

Served in the Royal Artillery

Acted in repertory in Leicester, Liverpool and Hornchurch, England

Invited to join The National Theater at the Old Vic where he played King Lear, Macbeth and Antony; first major role was when he understudied Laurence Olivier and eventually went on in "Dance of Death" (1966)