Anthony Hopkins, 88, announces unexpected career shift

Acting legend has had an incredible over 65 year career with more than 150 credits to his name but at 88-years-old he is making a shift into music.

The Welsh two-time Oscar winner has signed a record contract with Decca Classics and is set to release an album as a classical music composer.

The multi-talented star will release a collection of recordings next month that will feature compositions written by Hopkins and performed by Gustavo Dudamel and the Philharmonia Orchestra. 

The film legend - who was born in Port Talbot, Wales - began playing the piano at age 4 and is said to have started performing Beethoven and Chopin just a few years later.

Of the new project, Hopkins said in a statement: 'Music was my first desire, my first wish.

'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.'

The first piece of music that is set to be released from the album is titled Bracken Road from Hopkins' 1947: Suite for Solo Piano and Orchestra as the record label says the track is inspired by his childhood memories from Margam, South Wales. 

His statement continued: 'My whole life is a dream. Signing with Decca is the honour of a lifetime. It has been a true privilege to collaborate with the distinguished Philharmonia Orchestra and the virtuoso soloists, cellist Gregorio Nieto and classical pianist Sergio Tiempo.