His acting “trick” is very simple. “You just have to memorize your lines, be present, and try to be authentic.”
To play Wynton, a stockbroker who saved more than 600 children during World War II, in the film to be released on March 15, Hopkins watched interviews and documentary appearances to get a better understanding of his gait and character. I studied how to speak. His performance was approved by Winton's son.
“It was easier because I didn't have to pretend to be old, because I am old,” Hopkins said with a smile.
Despite this, “One Life” director James Dawes emphasized Hopkins' “young spirit” and said that the Knight of the Kingdom “genuinely loves what he does” and that he continues to have a passion for film. He added that
“He would sit on an apple box at the end of the set and watch people adjust the lights and the trucks because he was so happy with the world he was in.” Dawes explained and added: ”
“One Life” is told in two parts, as young Winton, played by Johnny Flynn, spearheads an extraordinary feat by arranging a train to transport children from Prague. Hopkins plays an older Wynton, reflecting on his own life and haunted by images of the children he was unable to save, especially on the last train out of Prague.
One of the emotional moments recreated in the film was Winton's appearance on the British TV show “That's Life,” where he joined a studio made up of descendants of the children he saved. The audience was surprised. The extras surrounding Hopkins in the recreated scene also related to the children of the Kindertransport, and Hopkins called it “a pretty touching moment”.
Hopkins said that playing Wynton was one of the highlights of his career, but that playing Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs, for which he won his first Academy Award in 1991, “set the direction of my life. “It brought about a big change in sexuality.”
“That was my favorite because it was easy to play, but it didn’t represent my personality very well,” he said.
“I know I can't take any credit for it because I couldn't figure out my life,” he added. “I don't even know how I became an actor. It's better than working for a living.”