- Oscar-winner was in costume as a homeless man while filming for new King Lear
- Great-grandmother Edwina Grealy passed the scene in Stevenage on a scooter
- She asked Hopkins whether he was homeless and pointed him towards a shelter
- After revealing his true identity, the actor had a picture taken with Ms Grealy
A pensioner has revealed her embarrassment after mistaking Anthony Hopkins for a tramp.
Great-grandmother Edwina Grealy, was heading into town on her mobility scooter when she saw a group of unkempt men – including Sir Anthony, 80.
Ms Grealy, 84, a retired aviation worker, asked the actor ‘are you homeless?’ to which he responded ‘we’re all homeless’.
The octogenarian then pointed Hopkins in the direction of a homeless shelter, adding: ‘It’s got nice beds.’
Oscar-winner Anthony Hopkins looks so convincing in his costume that he managed to convince 84-year-old great-grandmother Edwina Grealy that he was a tramp
Director Richard Eyre said last week that the actor managed to fool a passerby as they filmed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire
Oscar-winning Hopkins then revealed his true identity before posing with the pensioner for pictures taken by co-star Emma Thompson.
Director Richard Eyre said last week that the actor managed to fool a passerby as they filmed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
Ms Grealy told The Mirror: ‘He looked the part.
‘It was lovely to meet him. He was very down to earth.’
Hopkins was confirmed to be playing Shakespeare’s famous character back in June, in the new BBC adaptation directed by Richard Eyre.
Ms Grealy told The Mirror: ‘He looked the part. It was lovely to meet him. He was very down to earth.’ King Lear will air on BBC2 on Monday at 9.30am.
The reboot of the famous story is set in ‘the fictional present’, with the tyrannical King Lear using the Tower of London as the base for his military dictatorship.
Emma Thompson appears as Goneril – marking the stars’ first onscreen reunion since Remains Of The Day in 1993 – while Emily Watson and Florence Pugh play his other two daughters Regan and Cordelia.
Jim Broadbent and Jim Carter are signed up play Lear’s war ministers Gloucester and Kent while Sherlock’s Andrew Scott has been confirmed as Edgar, Lear’s secret protector.
King Lear will air on BBC2 on Monday at 9.30am.
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