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In 1991, Anthony Hopkins was set to play a spy for the first time in 20 years, but he quit at the last second
Anthony Hopkins withdrew from PBS’s *A Murder of Quality* in 1991, shortly before filming was due to begin, after objecting to changes in the script. The planned role as George Smiley would have returned him to playing a spy for the first time in 20 years, following his part in *When Eight Bells Toll*.
Actor Denholm Elliott said Hopkins felt the new script was not the one he had agreed to and refused to proceed. With only three days before production, the producers brought in Elliott, who had three BAFTA wins and an Oscar nomination; he said they doubled their offer to persuade him to take the role.
In short
- Hopkins quit *A Murder of Quality* over a changed script.
- He withdrew just three days before filming began.
- Denholm Elliott replaced him after the producers doubled their offer.
Explained simply
George Smiley is a fictional British intelligence officer created by author John le Carré. A Murder of Quality is one of le Carré’s novels about Smiley, who investigates a death at a private school.
The story was adapted for PBS, the American public broadcaster. Anthony Hopkins had previously played a spy in the 1971 film When Eight Bells Toll; taking the Smiley role would have returned him to that kind of part after two decades.
Denholm Elliott was an established British actor, with three BAFTA wins and an Oscar nomination. His account of stepping into the production offers a glimpse of how a late change in casting can affect both a performer and a film’s preparations.