When Anthony Hopkins dines out, you’d expect him to order liver and fava beans topped off by a nice Chianti.
But unlike his enduring character Hannibal Lecter – now back in the news thanks to Donald Trump’s repeated mentions of him – the Welsh actor opted for lentil soup and grilled eggplant with sparkling water.
Hopkins, 86, lunched at Taverna Tony in Malibu a few days before Trump was making his reference to the terrifying fictional cannibal during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention.
In his rambling 90-plus minute speech, the GOP’s presidential candidate asked the audience if they had seen The Silence of the Lambs, the movie that won Hopkins his first Oscar.
‘The late, great Hannibal Lecter,’ Trump, 78, said. ‘Who would love to have you for dinner…that’s insane asylums.’
No liver, fava beans or Chianti for Anthony Hopkins when he had lunch at Taverna Tony in Malibu
He ate with his assistant Juan Miguel, or ‘JOTS’ as the star prefers to call him (an acronym for ‘Johnny On The Spot’)
He’s had a lengthy career that has spanned five decades, and he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1993
In May he made several stump speeches comparing migrants to Lecter – who he again called ‘late’ and great’ despite him being an invention of novelist Thomas Harris.
Trump claimed countries such as Venezuela and El Salvador are ’emptying out insane asylums’ and sending terrorists to the United States ‘at numbers that we’ve never seen before’.
At one speech he even called Lecter ‘a great man’.
But Hopkins isn’t keen on his most famous character being part of Trump’s re-election bid.
‘I’m shocked and appalled what you’ve told me about Trump,’ he told Dominic Patten in an interview for Deadline.
‘Hannibal, that’s a long time ago, that movie,’ he said.’God, that was over 30 years ago.’
Hopkins had lunch with his assistant Juan Miguel, or ‘JOTS’ as the star prefers to call him (an acronym for ‘Johnny On The Spot’),
The wait staff attending to the Welshman asked him if he would like to have his ‘usual’ seat in the back corner of the Greek restaurant.
Whispering back in his British accent, he replied: ‘Oh yes, that would be lovely.’
The nattily dressed star wore a plaid light blue blazer with a white Polo shirt underneath, navy pants, black sneakers and topped it off with a jaunty blue newsboy cap.His eyes were a twinkling icy blue and he appeared as alert as ever.
Presidential candidate Donald Trump mentioned Hannibal Lecter during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention on Thursday
Hopkins won his first Oscar playing the iconic Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 movie The Silence of the Lambs
The nattily dressed star wore a plaid light blue blazer with a white Polo shirt underneath, navy pants, black sneakers and topped it off with a jaunty blue newsboy cap
Hopkins’s Oscar for playing Lecter was followed by anoother 29 years later for his role as a man battling dementia in the thriller The Father. In between them he was nominated four more times for The Remains of the Day, Nixon, Amistad and The Two Popes.
His lengthy career has spanned five decades, and he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1993.
But he tries to remain a man of the people. As he was packing up to leave the restaurant, a couple with a young daughter followed him outside and asked if he would pose for a photo.
Hopkins was more than happy to entertain the family, telling them ‘certainly’, before handing their iPhone to his assistant.
As these exclusive DailyMail.com images show, when Hopkins spotted the photographer he waved both his hands and smiled.
Taverna Tony is a favorite of celebrities including Barbra Streisand, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, Noel Gallagher, Cindy Crawford, Pierce Brosnan and Dustin Hoffman . Hunter Biden has even eaten there.
It was a rare candid sighting of Hopkins in Malibu especially since he sold his two-story, four-bedroom, four-bathroom, ocean bluff home in the Point Dume area four years ago for $10.5 million.
As soon as he was packing up to leave the restaurant, a couple with a young daughter followed him outside and asked if he would pose for a photo
Hopkins was more than happy to entertain the family, telling them ‘certainly’, before handing their iPhone to his assistant
Hopkinssaid he was appalled that Trump would make reference to hiss most famous character during stump speeches about illegal immigration
The octogenarian – who has been married for 21 years to Stella Arroyave, 68 – is active on social media, posting on both Instagram and TikTok with millions of followers.
On June 23 he posted images of himself dancing with longtime pal and fellow thespian Sir Ian McKellan, 85. ‘Today I celebrate my dear friend Ian, and his unbreakable spirit…I love this man.’
Last month McKellen fell off stage during a performance of Player Kings at London’s Noel Coward Theater injuring his neck and wrist.
In March Dailymail.com reported that Hopkins is set to be the lead actor in Eyes In The Trees, a re-imagined incarnation of The Island Of Dr Moreau the 1896 book by H.G. Wells.
And there was another reason he wasn’t drinking Chianti – Hopkins is celebrating almost 50-years of sobriety. On his birthday last December he posted a video encouraging everyone who wants it to get help with addiction.
‘If you get a hangover, remember me. I don’t get them anymore because 48-years ago, I stopped. I got help for it and my life changed.’
He was previously married to Petronella Barker from 1966-1972, and Jennifer Lynton, 1973-2002.
He has a daughter Abigail Hopkins, 55, from his first marriage. The two have been estranged for two decades.
