‘Westworld’ Star Anthony Hopkins Reveals Why He’ll Never Watch The Show

Westworld is HBO’s newest breakout hit and one reason for the show’s success has to come from the actors involved and the phenomenal performances some have already given in the first episodes of the series. Among them, of course, is Sir Anthony Hopkins, and while the veteran actor plays an intriguing Dr. Robert Ford, Anthony reveals he’s never seen a single episode. In fact, Hopkins says he never will watch Westworld, and as curious as that may be, there’s a very good reason.

Westworld Star Anthony Hopkins Doesn’t Think He’s Missing Anything Special

When fans found out that Anthony Hopkins won’t watch Westworld, it begged the question of why, and to answer that, Hopkins reveals an overall philosophy that has led him into a lifestyle many people might find just a little odd. Anthony doesn’t watch TV at all. In fact, the Westworld star doesn’t even own a television.

“I have my own Mickey Mouse theories that we have alienated ourselves in the world watching television all the time,” said Mr. Hopkins, while speaking at a Westworld press event.

Anthony added that he feels wary of the fact that all of our information comes from the television, suggesting that it poses a danger by making people dependent upon that medium in particular. Hopkins feels a television would be an unnecessary encumbrance, because information shared through television ultimately comes to him through other sources.

He adds that television essentially rots the brain with attempts to tell viewers what to do and how to think. The Westworld star shows disdain for TV in its entirety, which seems ironic, considering Hopkins’ participation in an HBO series and the subject matter of Westworld. Even Anthony’s own Westworld character is involved in the upper echelon of a company which seeks to provide a service not entirely dissimilar than the programming offered by TV.

Yet, Hopkins maintains that nothing good can come of it.

“If you watch all that, you’re going to poison your brain, your psychology, your outlook on life,” explains Anthony Hopkins. “You could become a cynic, miserable, a nihilist. So along come these great visionaries (who say) ‘I’m going to change your life, I’m going to change everything for you.'”

Anthony Hopkins Doesn’t Even Remember His Westworld Scenes

While the press tour event was meant to promote Westworld and give all of the show’s actors an opportunity to share their own Westworld insights, Anthony Hopkins’ aversion to television took center stage. As reporters showed greater interest in the actor’s TV-free lifestyle, Hopkins confessed that he doesn’t really recall his time on the set of the new HBO series. He says many of his scenes have been lost to him.

“I have a delete button in my brain and I don’t remember the past very well,” said Hopkins. “I can’t remember — we started two years ago. Just watching it now I’d forgotten I was in some of those scenes.”

Anthony later mused on the contradiction of his career, pointing to the fact that many of his roles have been of characters with a great need for maintaining control. Hopkins added that a need for control has never been important to him in his own life. Hopkins also admitted that he does know how to play a controlling character, which made him perfect for the role.

If Mr. Hopkins dislikes television so much, why did he agree to work on Westworld in the first place?

In responding to such inquiries, Anthony says that he admires the reputation HBO has garnered for producing quality entertainment, adding that he was intrigued by the mystery of his own Westworld character.

Finally, Anthony Hopkins responded to questions of whether or not he would visit a theme park similar to that portrayed in Westworld.

“I haven’t given much thought to utopias or dystopias,” Hopkins says. “It’s all about control, which I find is pointless, because there is no control, there’s only uncertainty. Our agony is that we desperately want certainty but there’s no certainty. Which means we want control, so we volunteer and vote for politicians to give us the control. It’s all useless, as we’ve seen in the past.”

For those who do watch Westworld, Episode 3, “The Stray,” airs tonight on HBO.

[Featured Image by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images]