Sir Anthony Hopkins became the oldest recipient of the best actor Bafta on Sunday night, but gave the ceremony a miss because he did not think he would win.

The 83-year-old had been invited to attend the event via Zoom, along with all the other nominees, but was notable by his absence.

Instead, he was painting in his hotel room in Wales, where he had just arrived for a holiday. His family informed him of his win, for his performance as a dementia patient in The Father.

“I heard this cheer next door. I thought, ‘What’s happening? Are they watching a football match?’” Sir Anthony said. He then received a message of congratulations from the film’s director, Florian Zeller.

Read the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/04/11/sir-anthony-hopkins-becomes-oldest-recipient-best-actor-bafta/

Subscribe to The Telegraph on YouTube ► https://bit.ly/3idrdLH

Get the latest headlines: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.