Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (“Silence of the Lambs”) has no desire to share his politics, conceding that actors are “pretty stupid.”
Speaking with Brad Pitt for Interview Magazine, Hopkins said he often declines the opportunity to share his opinion about the movie industry or world events because it’s “not worth anything.”
“I don’t have any opinions,” he said. “Actors are pretty stupid. My opinion is not worth anything. There’s no controversy for me, so don’t engage me in it, because I’m not going to participate.”
Hopkins added he rarely goes to movies anymore and dislikes what he called “green screen movies,” though he did appreciate Brad Pitt’s turn in “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.”
“I’m not great at going to see the green screen films,” Hopkins said. “I’ve been in a few of them and they’re fun, but they don’t grab me. I’m a bit too old for that.”
Hopkins’ dismissal of talking politics echoes what actor Mark Wahlberg stated in 2017 following President Trump’s election in which he said celebrities should stay out of politics.
“You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway. They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills,” he said in an interview with Task & Purpose. “A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”
“Look, I’ve never gone out and talked about politics. I’m an actor,” Wahlberg later told Yahoo Finance. “Both Republicans and Democrats buy movie tickets. I had a strong opinion and I didn’t choose to voice it out in the public, but now that somebody is in office, let’s all just come together and rally around him and make sure he has the best chance to succeed.”
“For better or for worse, this is our country,” he continued. “At least for the next 3 ½ years, he’s going to be making a lot of decisions. So let’s go out there and try to make positive change.”
Wahlberg even went as far to say he would “share a burger” with President Trump if given the opportunity.
“I’ve shared a golf course with him, so I’d certainly share a burger with him,” he said.
In 2016, following the election of President Donald Trump, actress Nicole Kidman also said that the country should support him as opposed to hating him.
“[Trump is] now elected and we, as a country, need to support whoever is the president,” she told U.K. television host Victoria Derbyshire at the time. “That is what the country is based on. And however that happened, it happened, and let’s go.”
Comedian Kevin Hart also said in 2017 that he prefers to be the “bright spot” in this culture rather than divisive with politics.
“When you jump into that political realm you’re alienating some of your audience … The world today, it’s really not a laughing matter. It’s serious. I don’t want to draw attention to things I don’t have nice things to say about.”