Anthony Hopkins looked worlds away from his famous film character, Hannibal Lecter, as he cheered on the English soccer team from afar amid their FIFA World Cup match against Mexico on Sunday night.
The 88-year-old was clad in an English soccer jersey and beige linen pants as he sat on an armchair, while looking over at his wife, Stella Arroyave, 70. The Colombian beauty rocked a green Mexico jersey in support of the Central American team, and paired it with a matching hat.
Anthony’s hair and beard were completely white in the shot, and his face looked thin as he supported the English side despite his Welsh heritage.
“We’re all winners…#worldcup2026,” he wrote in the caption, as fans rushed to the comment section to decry his support of England. “What are you doing???? You are Welsh,” wrote one fan, while another added: “Where is the Welsh top?” and a third shared: “Though you were a proud Welsh man!”
Anthony was born in Wales in 1937, and has been open about his connection to his homeland in the past. “I would like to go back to Wales. I’m obsessed with my childhood and at least three times a week dream I am back there,” he admitted in an interview.
The actor told the BBC that he enjoyed going home as his fame didn’t matter to the locals, who largely left him alone.
© Instagram“I don’t think they really take it seriously, which is very good, it keeps my feet on the ground,” he said. The Silence of the Lambs star moved to the US to pursue his acting career in the ’70s, and worked on getting sober after a drink-driving incident in Beverly Hills.
“As I sobered up, I looked up at the eucalyptus trees and thanked God no one had died that night. I imagined my parents back in Wales hearing that I’d killed someone or myself. I saw their hopes smashed,” Anthony wrote in his memoir, We Did OK, Kid.
© Getty Images“I heard a voice ask me, ‘Do you want to live or do you want to die?'” he continued. “‘I want to live,’ a voice answered from somewhere deep inside me. Then I heard the voice say, ‘It’s all over now. You can start living.’ The craving to drink left me. That was eleven o’clock on December 29, 1975.”
© Radio Times via Getty ImagesHe has been sober for 50 years now, and celebrated the incredible milestone in December 2025. “50 years ago today I was nearly killed by driving my car in a drunken blackout. That’s the way it was. But I realized at that point that I was having too much fun. It was called alcoholism,” he began in a candid Instagram video.
“So anyone out there who’s got a little problem with having too much, check it out because life is much better,” he continued. “So I stopped. Without bragging, I got help, and 50 years ago today was the end.” He went on to encourage others to “choose life” instead of alcohol.
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