Sir Anthony Hopkins as Sir John Talbot in "The Wolfman" (Photo courtesy of United International Pictures)

“The Wolfman” is a remake of the 1941 horror film, "The Wolf Man". Sir Anthony Hopkins plays Sir John Talbot, the father of Lawrence Talbot, who in turn is played by Oscar winner Benicio del Toro.

The story unfolds as Lawrence, urged by his brother’s fiancée Gwen Conliffe, returns to BLackmoor, to help find his missing brother. Upon returning, he discovers that a mysterious beast has been attacking the villagers. Now, aside form finding his brother, he must destroy the creature to protect his childhood home.

As the movie opens locally on February 12, 2010, Sir Anthony shares what drew him to the project.

“I like gothic movies. In fact I loved old Hammer films when I was a kid,” he begins. “There’s been lots of support for werewolf movies [lately], hasn’t there? I can’t make any comparisons to the past and to other movies, which is kind of refreshing to me, because I go into it open and empty-minded.”

Curiously, this is also the approach the renowned actor takes with regards to his career, which perhaps is the secret in his staying in the business for so long.

“Really, I am just an actor and I show up. If a part is interesting enough and good enough and has a good cast, then I will do it. I don’t have to have a whole list of do’s and don’ts. I don’t overload myself with a lot of imponderable questions about, ‘Is it good for me?’ I just do it. The enjoyment I get is just having a look at the page and the script and then reinventing my interpretation of it and forming some characterization, if you want to call it that, and then it’s just a case of showing up and doing it.”

Whereas the direction he got was to play Sir John as a bombastic, very grand man with a big voice, Sir Anthony points out that the American interpretation of what the character should be like is not always the best way to do it.

He elaborates, “I wanted to do the total opposite and play like a submarine, under the radar, very, very quiet. That is what I think is the best way to do things: not to be bombastic but just to play it very quietly. Then that pulls the audience in towards you. That’s what I do. I underplay.”