Questionable quotes supposedly from celebrities often permeate the internet without credit to the source or the context in which they were supposedly said.
Take, for example, a widely shared philosophical outlook on life often attributed to director, actor, producer, and composer, Anthony Hopkins:
Anthony Hopkins, "I am what I am and I do what I do..." by r/delibertine pic.twitter.com/hoSV8L3pK9
— Stoic Teacher (@_stoicteacher) March 20, 2022
Snopes found examples of the above quote on many social media platforms, including Reddit, Facebook and Instagram, dating back at least a decade. And through a bit of digital sleuthing, we found that this quote appears to be authentic and indeed came from the star. We've contacted Hopkin's agent, and have rated this claim as "Research in Progress" as we await a response.
A Google search of the quote in question returned several pages of results, including a post shared to the book cataloging website Goodreads, which attributed the quote to the director. However, the Amazon-owned site did not include further information about when or why Hopkins shared this supposed life outlook.
Snopes next came across a 2011 article published by the celebrity tabloid website run by blogger Perez Hilton that included a much longer version of the quote from Hopkins, in which he described how his wife helped him through his battle with depression. Included in the article was a link to a now-deleted article published on Dec. 17, 2011, by the Canadian television broadcaster, CTV News, which was archived here.
Using the title of the article – "Sir Anthony Hopkins' wife saved him from 'depression'" – Snopes then conducted a secondary Google search and found that several media outlets, including the Independent on Jan. 31, 2011, published the quote.
In all instances, the byline included in the article was Bang Showbiz, an entertainment syndicate whose reporting can be shared by member news publications.
The quote was said to have originated in an interview with Seven magazine, where the then-74-year-old British actor described marrying his wife, Stella Arroyave, in 2003, and how his marriage helped him to overcome challenges presented by the "slight depression" he was experiencing at that point in his life.
Snopes was unable to track down the original Seven magazine article, but pulled the full quote as it was reported by Bang Showbiz at the time:
She met me ten years ago when I was shut down. Shut down for some years. I didn't feel shut down at that time. I felt I was quite happy. But I was dealing with slight depression. Not trusting anyone. Certainly not trusting women.
Everyday she wakes up happy. She's very positive about everything. I learnt from her just to take life as it comes. So I live my life in non -expectation.
My philosophy is: It's none of my business what people say of me and think of me. I am what I am and I do what I do. I expect nothing and accept everything. And it makes life so much easier.
When I first came to LA in the seventies I was drinking up a storm. Everyone else was doing drugs but I just thought: 'This is it. No more booze'. I'd had a couple of warnings. People told me: 'You've got a nice career ahead of you, you should clean yourself up.' But I didn't do it for the work, I did it for me.
Other questionable quotes that Snopes has investigated can be read here.