
Age: 88
male
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE (born December 31, 1937) is a Welsh and American actor, film director, and film producer. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards and a British Academy Television Award. He has also received an honorary Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Fellowship from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. In 1993, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts, and in 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in the motion picture industry. After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 1957, Hopkins trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, and was then spotted by Laurence Olivier who invited him to join the Royal National Theatre in 1965. Productions at the National included King Lear, his favourite Shakespeare play. His last stage play was a West End production of M. Butterfly in 1989. In 1968, Hopkins achieved recognition in film, playing Richard the Lionheart in The Lion in Winter. In the mid-1970s, Richard Attenborough, who directed five Hopkins films, called him "the greatest actor of his generation." In 1991, he portrayed Hannibal Lecter in the psychological horror film The Silence of the Lambs, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. He reprised the role in its sequel Hannibal and the prequel Red Dragon. Other notable films include The Elephant Man (1980), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Howards End (1992), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Shadowlands (1993), Legends of the Fall (1994), Meet Joe Black (1998), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Thor (2011), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017). He received four more Academy Award nominations for The Remains of the Day (1993), Nixon (1995), Amistad (1997) and The Two Popes (2019) before winning a fourth BAFTA Award and a second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an elderly man diagnosed with dementia in The Father (2020), becoming the oldest Best Actor Oscar winner to date. Since making his television debut with the BBC in 1967, Hopkins has continued to appear on television. In 1973 he received a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his performance in War and Peace. In 2015, he starred in the BBC film The Dresser alongside Ian McKellen. In 2018, he starred in King Lear opposite Emma Thompson. In 2016 and 2018, he starred in the HBO television series Westworld, for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Anthony Hopkins

Old Sir Matt Busby
for Old Sir Matt Busby in UNITED: Youth, Courage, Success (2028-)
Suggested by bencasting

Manchester United have reportedly agreed a deal with North American production company Lionsgate for the creation of a drama series based on the history of the club. Here's my take on what it could look like: Series 1: The origins of a club with working-class roots, from Newton Heath’s survival, the birth of Manchester United and the move to old trafford, through the World Wars ars and relegation and financial struggles to stay afloat. Matt Busby and the Busby Babes setting the standard in English football until the shocking tragedy of the Munich air disaster. Series 2: Busby rebuilds a grieving club almost from scratch, culminating in European glory. When he finally retires, United drift through a series of managers, trapped between past expectations and present failures, culminating in a shocking relegation. Series 3: Ron Atkinson restores some success. Alex Ferguson arrives from Aberdeen, imposing discipline and authority. A faltering start nearly costs him his job, but an FA Cup win gives the him a lifeline. Series 4: A young generation emerges, reshaping the club’s future. By the mid-90s, Ferguson’s team dominate England again, building toward one extraordinary night in Barcelona in 1999. Series 5: United are a British football institution, but off the pitch turbulence mounts. Ferguson contemplates retirement, legal battles and boardroom disputes erupt, a racehorse conspiracy causes chaos, and high-profile fallouts shake the squad. The Glazer familys’ leveraged takeover causes mass fan protests. Series 6: United remain a global powerhouse. Ferguson battles rivals Wenger and Mourinho while rebuilding the squad. European glory returns in 2008, City’s rise challenges the football established order, and Ferguson claims a final Premier League title in 2013 before preparing his successor, David Moyes. Series 7: The post-Ferguson era begins.


