They’re both celebrated actors, who have respectively scooped Academy Awards for their widely lauded efforts on the silver screen.
And Sir Anthony Hopkins, 82, and Olivia Colman, 46, have generated early buzz that they could well be up for more coveted trophies next year, as the first look trailer for their new movie The Father has been unveiled.
In the heart-wrenching screen adaptation of Florian Zeller’s play of the same name, Hopkins plays Anthony, a fiercely independent man whose life begins to change at an alarming rate as he suffers from early onset Alzheimer’s.
Emotional journey: Sir Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman have been unveiled in the first look trailer for their new movie The Father
However, rather than accept his daughter Anne’s (Coleman) offer of help, he stubbornly resists – and even suspects her of hiding a sinister plan.
As the pair sit down to speak with a medical professional, Anthony is asked if he is living with his daughter as she sits beside him.
‘The situation is very simple,’ he answers. ‘I’ve lived in this flat for 30 years now and my daughter is very interested in it.’
Role: In the heart-wrenching screen adaptation of Florian Zeller’s play of the same name, Hopkins plays Anthony, a fiercely independent man suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s
Refusing help: However, rather than accept his daughter Anne’s (Coleman) offer of help, he stubbornly resists – and even suspects her of hiding a sinister plan
Ignoring protests from his daughter that what he’s saying isn’t true, he continues: ‘So she’s moved in with this man she met.
‘I don’t know what she’s cooking up against me, but she’s cooking something up. That I do know. There’s something funny going on, Believe me, there’s something going on, It’s been going on for some time. Strange things going on around us.’
His continued deterioration becomes evident throughout the emotional trailer, as he’s seen defiantly yelling at his daughter: ‘I am not leaving my flat!’
Devoted: Anne moves from Paris to London with her partner to spend time with her ailing dad
Daughter: Ultimately, he fails to recognise his daughter one day when she walks into his abode
He’s shown enquiring about the whereabouts of different possessions in his house, under the apparent impression that they have been stolen.
Ultimately, the signs of his illness become impossible to ignore as Anthony fails to recognise his own daughter one day when she walks into his abode.
‘Who are you exactly?’ Anthony asks toward the end of the trailer, before he’s also heard heartbreakingly enquiring: ‘Who exactly am I?’
Possessions: He’s shown enquiring about the whereabouts of different possessions in his house, under the apparent impression that they have been stolen
Who am I: ‘Who are you exactly?’ Anthony asks toward the end of the trailer, before he’s also heard heartbreakingly enquiring: ‘Who exactly am I?’
Producers David Parfitt and Philippe Carcassonne and executives at Film4 and Embankment reworked the schedule to ensure that Hopkins and Colman could be available to work together on the production, which began shooting in May 2019.
The pair did the majority of their scenes together on a sound stage at a studio complex in west London.
Olivia Williams, Rufus Sewell, Imogen Poots and Mark Gatiss are also included in the cast of the film, which is expected to receive award nods next year.
The Father, which first premiered at Sundance in January of this year, is set to be released in the US on December 18, followed by the UK on January 8, 2021.
Partner: Rufus Sewell (pictured) portrays Anne’s partner in the anticipated screen adaptation
Coming soon: The Father, which first premiered at Sundance in January of this year, is set to be released in the US on December 18, followed by the UK on January 8, 2021