Sir Anthony Hopkins shares Dylan Thomas reading from his ‘green and golden’ Wales

Sir Anthony Hopkins has returned to his “green and golden land”, sharing a reading of a beloved Dylan Thomas poem.

In the caption of the video, published to his Instagram page on Sunday 22 March, the Welsh actor wrote: “Sunday greetings from Wales, the green and golden land of Dylan Thomas. 💚💛”

Fern Hill was first published in Horizon Magazine in October 1945, and in part reads:

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,
     The night above the dingle starry,
          Time let me hail and climb
     Golden in the heydays of his eyes,
And honoured among wagons I was prince of the apple towns
And once below a time I lordly had the trees and leaves
          Trail with daisies and barley
     Down the rivers of the windfall light.

Inspired by his Aunt Annie’s farm, where he stayed during school holidays, Thomas wrote the piece as an exploration of growing up surrounded by nature.

The house at the Fernhill farm still stands as a Grade II listed building in New Quay, Cardiganshire, and alongside other family farms in Llansteffan also inspired Thomas’ short story The Peaches.

In the video, which has garnered 170,000 views, Sir Anthony reads the verse leaning against a fence with a lush green field and a cow grazing in the background, as the camera pans to a row of golden daffodils.

 

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Commenters were full of praise, writing that Sir Anthony is a “national treasure” and could “read shampoo ingredients and I’d listen in awe.”

Another added: “Seeing you back in your green and golden land is pure inspiration, Sir Anthony. Have a peaceful Sunday.”

Irish actress Catríona Balfe, who stars alongside Sir Anthony in The Housekeeper, wrote that it was “Beautiful ❤️”.

Originally from Margam in Neath Port Talbot, Sir Anthony lived for many years in the US. He returned to south Wales after his Los Angeles home was affected by wildfires in January 2025.

At 88 years old, Sir Anthony is still working as an actor, and the BBC speculated that his latest social media update might be a nod to his upcoming film.

A Visit to Grandpa’s, directed by DJ Caruso, sees Sir Anthony take the title role. The film depicts a young boy’s visit to his grandfather’s farm, itself inspired by Dylan Thomas’ holidays that led to Fern Hill and other works.

The summer quickly turns from one of boredom into “magical adventures filled with wild tales and imaginative mischief,” according to the IMDb synopsis.

Starring alongside other Welsh names including Celyn Jones, Aneurin Barnard and Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Sir Anthony said it was a “profoundly beautiful story,” that allowed him to return to his roots while “exploring the remarkable vision and prose of Dylan Thomas.”

Shooting for A Visit to Grandpa’s began in Wales in March 2026, although no release date has yet been set for the film, produced by Huw Penallt Jones.

A Visit to Grandpa’s is not the first time Sir Anthony has shared his love of the Swansea-born poet. He swapped acting for directing when he took the helm for ‘Dylan Thomas: Return Journey’, a TV movie that depicted Thomas’ life. 

He has also previously lent his voice to Dylan Thomas’ iconic poem Do not go gentle into that good night.