You might think the audiobook of the acting legend’s autobiography should be read by the acting legend himself. But apparently he wasn’t right for the part
I
n November, the biggest celebrity memoir of the year will be published. We Did OK, Kid promises to tell the life story of Sir Anthony Hopkins, and anyone with even a passing knowledge of the man will know that it’s a hell of a story. Born working class, he was hauled out of repertory theatre after being spotted by Sir Laurence Olivier, a move that set him on a course to the stars. Sir Richard Attenborough called him “unquestionably the greatest actor of his generation”. He has battled depression and alcoholism. He can do a mean Tommy Cooper impersonation. His publisher promises that Anthony Hopkins will tell this story with “a voice that is both arresting and vulnerable”.
That is, unless you listen to it on audiobook. Because Kenneth Branagh’s doing that bit.
On Tuesday, Variety reported that Branagh – not Hopkins – will read the audiobook version of We Did OK, Kid. In statements, Branagh said that “Anthony Hopkins’s memoir is searingly honest. His astonishing personal journey and professional triumphs are shared with rare insight and emotion. It was a privilege to speak the inspiring words of a humble man and a genuine master.” Which isn’t to say that the voice of Hopkins will be entirely absent from the recording since, according to Variety, when the book is finished Hopkins will read “over a dozen of his favourite poems in his instantly recognisable Welsh cadence”.
