Anthony Hopkins, 88, launches composing career with release of first single

London (CNN) — It’s never too late to follow your dream. At age 88, two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins has released his first single as a composer.

The single, “Bracken Road,” comes from “a selection of orchestral works written across more than six decades” that will be released as part of the “Life is a Dream” album, according to a statement from record company Decca Classics published Friday.

Hopkins has had a long and storied career as an actor, winning a raft of awards for roles such as serial killer Hannibal Lecter in “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991) and repressed butler Stevens in “The Remains of the Day.”

But he also started playing the piano at age 4.

“Music was my first desire, my first wish,” Hopkins said in the statement.

“I’ve been composing music all my life. Some of these pieces have lived with me for decades and I still find myself returning to them,” he added.

Hopkins started improvising on the piano at age 6, and by the time he was a teenager he was composing music for local plays, according to the statement.

He continued to compose music even when his acting career took off in earnest, and the project features works from throughout his life.

And music appears to have helped him through some difficult times: During the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Hopkins posted a video of himself playing the piano to his cat, Niblo, on Twitter.

The album is performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra and Grammy Award-winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and was recorded at Alexandra Palace, London, in April.

It is “inspired by Hopkins’ family, Wales and a lifetime of experience,” according to the statement.

Dudamel said that Hopkins “is one of those rare artists whose creative voice transcends any single medium.”

“The same depth of imagination, humanity, and emotional truth that has defined his extraordinary work on stage and screen is present in his music,” he added in the statement.

“Anthony approaches music with the heart of a storyteller and the instincts of a poet, creating sound worlds that are both deeply personal and universally resonant.”

“Life is a Dream” will be released August 21.

The-CNN-Wire
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