He will take Anthony Hopkins’ deep family pain with him to his grave

Hopkins revealed that his wife, Stella, recently contacted Abigail in an attempt to mend the family rift, but received no response.

‘My wife Stella sent an invitation [to Abigail] to come see us,” Hopkins said. ‘Not a word answer. So I think: okay, fine. I wish her the best, but I’m not going to waste blood on that. If you want to waste your life holding a grudge, fine, go ahead.”

Hopkins shares Abigail with his first wife, British actress Petronella Barker. The couple divorced in 1972, when Abigail was a toddler, and father and daughter had little contact for most of her childhood.

They reunited in the early 1990s, when Abigail appeared in his films Shadowlands And The remains of the day, but the fragile reconciliation did not last. The two have since grown apart and say they are no longer in touch.

In his interview, Hopkins spoke thoughtfully but decisively about the alienation.

“I could hold a grudge about the past, but that’s death. You’re not alive,” he said. “You have to recognize one thing: that we are imperfect. We are not saints. We are all sinners and saints or whatever we are. We are doing the best we can.”

But friends of the actor insist his words belie a deeper pain.

“He moved on publicly, but the wound never really healed,” said a longtime friend. “Anthony is a proud man and he channels his emotions through his art. But behind it lies a sadness that he rarely shows to anyone. Whatever he writes in his book, he will carry with him forever.”

Hopkins continued in the interview, “Life is painful. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes we get hurt. But you can’t live like that. You have to say, ‘Get over it.’ And if you can’t get over it, fine, good luck to you. I have no judgement. But I did what I could. So that’s it. That’s all I want to say.”

When asked if he hoped Abigail would read his memoirs, Hopkins replied curtly, “I’m not going to answer that.” No. I don’t care.’

Yet a source close to the production of his book said this response masked emotions.

“He says he doesn’t care, but of course he does,” the insider said. ‘There is a secret hope that she will read it – maybe he will understand him better. But he has given up waiting for a response.”

Abigail, a musician and filmmaker, has previously spoken about her complicated relationship with her father.

In 2006, she said, “It should be a two-way street, though. We’ve never really been close. We’ve never talked about big life issues.”

Now based in London, Abigail continues to work in the arts and has recently released a new album, Stardust. She also directed the short documentary Under this sky about her experience surviving stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Those close to Hopkins say he has accepted that reconciliation may never happen.

“He chose peace over regret,” said another friend. “But that doesn’t mean the love is ever gone. That’s the tragedy of it: he’ll bear it quietly, all the way to the end.”