What’s a Kid From the Bronx Doing Hanging Out With Sir Anthony Hopkins?

Born and raised in New York, I had the good fortune of being able to go to lots of Broadway shows. And like a lot of people, I kept the playbills and tee shirts from almost all of them. So, during the COVID-19 lockdown, I decided to go through some old boxes and found one from the play “Equus.” But “Equus” was not just another play that I went to. “Equus” and its star, Anthony Hopkins, changed my life.

Like most Bronx kids, I was given the gift of chutzpah (nerve, for you non-Yiddish speakers). Bronx kids learn early that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. And if you don’t get, you’re miserable.

One big “yes” I got from asking was from Sir Anthony Hopkins. In 1975, Sir Hopkins was starring in the hit Broadway play “Equus.” “Equus” is a searing drama about a stable boy that blinds six horses. In other words, it’s not a big yuck fest. I went back at least six times.

At the time, I was also a member of a Jewish Acting Theatre Company called Theatre EXP 3. We performed Yiddish plays in English. My big role was Berel in “Chassidic Rhapsody.” It was an awful play with awful actors and a largely deaf, geriatric audience.

One night, my acting company went to see “Equus.” Soon after the play ended, our artistic director asked me to ask Sir Hopkins if he would come and speak to our group. My chutzpah said, “Yes.” So, a few nights later, after Tony’s performance (eventually, he asked me to call him Tony), I cornered him at the stage door. He had no idea who or what I was.

I said, “Mr. Hopkins, I’m Mark Schiff. I’m in a small theatre company, and we’d love if you would speak to our group.” Tony was still sweating from an almost three-hour performance. Half startled, he stared at me with his baby blues and said in his rolling Wales accent, “What? What’s your name? What do you want?” I explained again, and, lo and behold, he agreed! He then handed me his home phone number.

We agreed that the following Sunday, he would come down and speak to us. When Tony came, he brought with him a stack of xeroxed scenes from Chekov plays. He handed each actor a scene to study. A few minutes later, he directed all of us one by one. Tony came back two or three times more to follow our progress. Being directed by Anthony Hopkins was like being directed by Marlon Brando or Laurence Olivier.

Sir Anthony Hopkins is not only a good man, but he’s a courageous man.

Tony also spent time talking to and getting to know our artistic director. One night, around two in the morning, my phone made a jing a ling sound. (Jing a ling was the sound phones made back then). It was Tony. He had been drinking, and he was mad. He went on for about 15 minutes about our artistic director and what a cruel and mean man he thought he was. He was also very worried that the director might cause some sort of emotional damage to us young actors. He didn’t like the man. He was scared for us. He wanted us to get away from him. Without really knowing any of us, he was trying to protect us. It’s a rare moment in life when you meet someone that hardly knows you but cares so much and tries to help you. Especially a person of his stature.

After that call, I would worm my way in and periodically join Sir Hopkins and other “Equus” actors for drinks at Charley’s, a Broadway bar. Each time, he reiterated to me that my troupe should get away from our workshop director. None of us in the group were able to see what Tony saw, but then, one afternoon at a rehearsal, the director snapped. He started yelling, cursing, and belittling us. He even physically started grabbing people tightly by the wrists and dragging them around. And like clockwork, at each rehearsal, he kept getting worse. Tony was right. The man was a lunatic.

Tony saw what none of us could see. His level of self-reflection and intuitiveness are two reasons why he’s such a great actor. Thanks to him, a few of us soon quit the company. Over the years, I’ve seen Tony a few times, and in a most gentle voice, he reminds me how worried he was about us kids. Sir Anthony Hopkins is not only a good man, but he’s a courageous man. In this world, that’s a rare bird that usually flies alone.

Mark Schiff is a comedian, actor and writer.