Sir Anthony Hopkins thinks politicians are helping send humanity “down into the swamp”.
‘The Silence of the Lambs’ actor, 86, reflected on the state of the world after wrapping up filming on his first TV role since Westworld in 2018, playing Emperor Vespasian in 68-year-old filmmaker Roland Emmerich’s lavish Roman empire epic ‘Those About to Die’.
Anthony told The Daily Telegraph: “The world has always been a place of total chaos. Whenever I hear politicians saying, ‘Let me be clear…’, I think: ‘Well, where is the clarity?’
“They say nothing new, on either side. We watch, hypnotised, as they fumble around.
“They’re only human beings, after all. We’re all going down into the swamp. There’s no way out.”
Oscar-winning Anthony was knighted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1993, but prefers to be addressed as ‘Tony’, and made his remarks in a chat from his mansion in Los Angeles the day after the farcical televised debate between US presidential candidates Joe Biden, 81, and 78-year-old Donald Trump.
He said he did not watch the debate.
The ‘Those About to Die’ series is based on the 1958 book of the same name by late writer Daniel P Mannix, and delves into how Emperor Vespasian sought to restore order to Rome after the city had burnt almost to the ground during Nero’s infamously debauched reign.
The hedonistic emperor slaughtered his mother and is believed to have kicked his pregnant wife Poppaea to death – before he castrated and married a boy who resembled her and took his own life in AD 68.
Vespasian was one of Nero’s former generals and took charge of the empire the following year and began the vast project of rebuilding Rome.
Anthony said there are similarities with the period and our world as Roman rulers used gladiatorial games to distract the masses from the chaos and corruption at the heart of government.
He added: “Bread and circuses, hey? Look this way! It was the same as in today’s political climate, where you have nothing but distractions.
“The movie industry, the red carpet… entertainment, entertainment, entertainment.
“You can get too many films now. Fluff! And you are hooked. It takes you away from the pain of living in political chaos.”
