Sir Anthony Hopkins talks about his role as the 37th president of the United States

by Constantine Nasr

I am not a crook," said Anthony Hopkins, in a voice closer to Richard Nixon's than his own, as he sat before a large group of reporters. "Tape those tapes away!"
Anthony Hopkins, the star of Oliver Stone's new film, "Nixon," sat down looking a little unlike his normal self. Having flown in that very day from France, where he is currently working on "Surviving Picasso" for James Ivory, Hopkins reveals himself as a very friendly and openly honest man. "Call me Tony," he said casually enough, although the man is a knight of Britain's realm.
Hopkins, who has played a handful of famous factual individuals, from Saint Paul to C.S. Lewis, has taken on the monumental and controversial challenge of played President Nixon, a man who could hardly be described as anything but celebrated in many ways by many people. Hopkins won an Oscar for his sadistic portrayal of Hannibal Lector in Jonathan Demme's "Silence of the Lambs." This time, the challenge of interpreting a man who stirs up so much emotion for so many Americans was a task many thought impossible, and even undesirable. But when director Stone announced Hopkins as his choice for the lead, fans and followers of Nixon were skeptical of the film's result.
When asked of whether he was nervous to take such a role, Hopkins said he was honestly uneasy.
"Yeah, for the obvious reasons. Not being an American, I thought Oliver Stone had taken leave of his senses. My agent said `He wants you to play Nixon.' I said, `Nixon, the actual President Richard Milhous?' He says, `Yeah.' I said, `Fine. You sure he's got the right guy?' and he said, `Yeah, he does.'"
"And Oliver probably said, `You want to do it? I'd like you to do it.' And I said, `Okay, well, I'm a bit nervous. Why do you want me?' And he said, `Because...' He gave me various reasons. He knew that I was born in South Wales. He'd read some interviews or had seen something like "Remains of the Day,' and he felt that I was some kind of outsider, in my own society. I said, `How'd you get that?' He said, `I know you.' So, I said okay. He gave me some good reasons.
"I said, `What do you want me to do about the voice? Do you want me to do a Rich Little?' He said, `No, no.' I knew I could do that, but it's kind of a cheat, you know. He said whatever you need to help you get into the part, do what you have to do. He said, `I just want you to get into the soul of the man.' The spirit of the man. The loneliness.
Most were curious about whether or not the fact that he was not American affected his portrayal.
"I can't answer that, obviously, because I don't know. But not being an American actor, he did say to me that a foreign actor like myself would be distanced from American politics and American culture. But maybe I'd have an overview. I think that's what he was looking for. I said, `Sure, you've got some wonderful actors in America today.' But he said, `Yeah, but no one will risk their image.' But I said, `A good actor would.' He said, `Well, would they?'
"But I do feel that I do have an overview of Nixon because I remember him so clearly in 1974. A month before I came to New York. In 1974, I'd already secretly planned to come into America. I wanted to work here. I'd never worked here. I `d worked with Goldie Hawn in Hollywood, but I wanted to come to America. So, Watergate had broken out in 1973, and in 1974 I watched the final act, you know. I saw Nixon say goodbye to the White House staff, the last speech. And I was mesmerized.
"It was very heartstunning to summarize. One afternoon in August, I thought, `I'm going to be in New York in a month. I'm going to be over there. In the heart of all that.' It's always been awesome for Britain, which is like the 51st state of America, to see America, such a big and powerful country like this, so rocked by such political crisis. Watching Nixon that afternoon, I'll never forget that. He talked about his mother, his father, his sweat, and I felt sad for him. I felt it was a great tragedy. I'd been aware of a lot of American opinion -- what a `son of a gun' he was, what a crook he was. But I didn't see it that way because I wasn't involved and I wasn't a Democrat or Republican. But I noticed that he was very much liked by the right wing of the Republicans.
"But the love of people and politicians were his flaws. And I thought it was just a great tragedy, that he was destroyed by it. The ironic thing was, I came over the day after Gerry Ford pardoned him, on a Sunday. Two days later I flew over to New York to start a new life. I was hoping to, anyway. And New York was filled with Nixon posters, picketed, etc. Such an irony this was.
"He's easy to like," Hopkins said, regarding his attitude towards the former president.
"I think people, you being Americans, you know better than I do, but the black and white attitude of Nixon's opinion -- he's an evil man or a you know. And he's corruptible. He's corrupt. He's crooked. He's a liar. As we all are. Every one of us is corruptible, and if we think we aren't, we're full of crap. We're all corruptible. Give any one of us a little bit of power and see what happens. Any one of us. And he was a deeply flawed man. I think he was a man, I don't know, who probably didn't like himself very much. Very insecure. The very prize that he wanted all his life he destroyed, in front of everyone, which is not the mark of a normal man. I think he was an extraordinary man. Anyone who gets his road power from Yorba Linda or Whittier, having pulled himself up the bootstraps, to become President of the most powerful nation in the world, has to be unique."
Hopkins, like the rest of the cast, had the opportunity to work alongside and meet many of Nixon's cabinet and closest associates. Stone made it a point to bring in many of the witnesses of Nixon's White House to give the actors and filmmakers inspiration and clarification.
"Richard's son, his Attorney General, told me in Washington that the thing that destroyed Nixon was his deep personality faults. Had he never had those personality faults, he would never have become president. So, the very engine that drove him marred him. I mean, you look at all those photographs and gestures of him. The guy was a winner, but he did it with such humorlessness. Such dogged sort of solemnness. And I think he's a tragic figure. I asked John Sears, who was his campaign manager, if he liked Nixon. He said, `Well, I wanted to like him, but he wouldn't let you like him. Because if he allowed you to like him, that means that he would have to like you.' And Nixon didn't like anyone. He liked the masses. He couldn't talk to anyone, one to one, because he was so awkward. So shy. Barbara Walters told me, `To meet him was painful because he's awkward. He'd walk into furniture. He's such a klutz. But get him on politics and he's just brilliant.
"So, John Sears said that he thinks that Nixon buried the best part of himself. Behind some kind of strange early 20th century American machismo.
"`A man doesn't cry," he said, shifting into his Nixon persona. "Gotta be strong. American.'"
"I mean, if you look at the history after the Checkers speech, he burst into tears. During Watergate, drunkenness. During the defeat after Kennedy, bursting into tears. So, I think all those emotions that men in our society have been trained to crush, if you keep them down long enough, they'll come out and bite you and kill you. Or ruin your life. And he did that, and I think that's what destroyed him.
When asked of Nixon's promises to Pat, his wife, to never enter into politics again, Hopkins believed that Nixon always believed what he said, although he would later change his mind.
"I think he thought he meant it."
"He said to Alexander Haig the day [before he resigned], `One more thing before we go in to say goodbye,' [Nixon] said. `The resignation, in the morning,' Haig said. `Oh yeah,' Nixon replied, taking out his pen. And as he started writing his name, he said, `Well, Al, I think I blew it.' And Nixon said that on television. He got all choked up. An extraordinary guy.
Hopkins, like much of the cast, did an incredible amount of extra research, to dig deep into Nixon's past to recreate the persona he interpreted.
"I watched everything I could. The emotional element I got from my own childhood. My relationship with my father and mother. I was an only child. My father was a civilian, a character out of "A Death of a Salesman." He was Willy Lowman. He had a great personality. He died of heart disease. Worked very hard all his life. Always had great dreams. Like Nixon's father. And like Willy Lowman.
"And then when Oliver said Nixon's mother was a saint, I found that to be her extra-excessive virtues. I think that destroyed him. Too much virtue. Puritanism. The biggest killer of all. Like all extremists."
The actor spoke highly of director Stone, whom he found to be the central drive that pulled the film into focus.
"He let me find the part. The interpretation of the scenes, he was the strong-arm. But he was always open. What he would do is let the scenes play out. He'd rehearse them. He's the hardest working director that I've ever seen. And he lets you find the scene in rehearsal, then he gives you lots of help. You don't get much rehearsal. He likes to keep you on edge. And he keeps you on the edge in a good way. Everything just a bit cracky and off balance. A nervous edge to it. You're not too sure. He keeps you individual. It's his life. So, you don't get too safe."
After just seeing the film a few days before, Hopkins was impressed and satisfied. "I thought it's good. I'm really pleased with it. Really pleased."
Considering the recent death of the former president, Hopkins seemed to hope that many people would understand, through this movie, that there was more to this man than many would give him credit for. There was a complexity that drove him to greatness and beyond, and eventually brought him down again.
"I watched the CBS two-hour documentary on Watergate," the actor said. "Ben Bradley said, `If there's one man I'd like to spend ten days with, it's Richard Milhous Nixon. The most fascinating President we've ever had.' `Brilliant,' he said, and a great man. But deeply flawed. Ben Bradley got very emotional. `A brilliant man, a great man, but his own worst enemy.
"`I wonder what's he's like,' Hopkins said, `I'd love to see him. I'd love to spend time with him. But I know nobody can get near him.'
"It's really the mark of a great tragic figure."