Sir Anthony Hopkins tries to "simplify the process" of acting now he is older

He said: "I always attempt, especially as I’m getting older, to simplify the process. I don’t analyse too much, and to have a great script is like a road map. I just followed the road map. I didn’t have to act old because I am old. I’m 83. My back ached and knees ached."

And Anthony is even more meticulous about learning lines at his age.

In a chat with Jodie Foster for Variety's Actors on Actors series, he shared: "Yes, I do. It’s become easier, because I’m older and I’ve got a lot of experience with it. I try not to make a big deal of it. But what I do know is I’m assiduous at learning lines.

"I learn the text. And then I can improvise. For me, the thing is the text. And once they’re in there, it’s like eating fava beans. Once you’ve devoured them, then you can move around and improvise within it, to make it sound real."

Meanwhile, the 83-year-old actor previously insisted he isn't afraid of death.

Asked if he's frightened of death, he said: "Not at all. I've got no choice. What's the point in being frightened? We're all going to die ... It's the inability to use words properly. 'He passed on'. What do you mean? He died. There's no respectable way of looking at it.

"When you're dead, you're a lump of meat and you decay very rapidly ... I don't think I will go mad now. The best I can say of myself is that I've tunnelled through the mountain of my life and come out the other side. I think once you get past the mid-70s and you're in your 80s, then you feel OK because you know your time is limited and you'd better get on with it and enjoy it."