What does it take for an actor to memorize a script so deeply that it survives stress, pressure from everyday life, and even intoxication?

Sir Anthony Hopkins has an answer so tempting, I had to try it.

And it has less to do with “talent” than you might think.

According to his epic autobiography, We Did Ok, Kid, not even Anthony Hopkins thinks his ability to remember so many lines has to do with DNA or some special genetic trait.

Having memorized a lot of content myself, I completely agree.

And in this guide, you’ll learn how Hopkins turns scripts into mental landscapes, why most performers fail because they chase speed, and how you can adopt Hopkins’ obsessive learning rituals for yourself.

If they’re not for you, you’ll also discover how to adapt them using the Magnetic Memory Method.

This unique learning approach will help you install lines from a script or poetry so deeply the process will soon feel like second nature.

Whether you’re preparing for a stage performance, a TEDx talk, or a high-stakes presentation, this exploration of Anthony Hopkins’ approach to learning is the memory training guide you’ve been looking for.

Hopkins’ brilliant ability to memorize thousands of lines and perform them under pressure isn’t magic. It’s the result of a particular ritual that has made him polymathic in number of areas and skills.

In case you weren’t aware, Hopkins is not just an award-winning actor.

His skills include directing, painting, performing music and now writing. And it has to be said that the writing in We Did Ok, Kid is outstanding.

Now, although Hopkins has had teachers and mentors along the way, much of what he’s learned has been autodidactic.

For example, as a kid he regularly read Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopedia. Without anyone telling him to do so, he committed lists of facts from its pages to memory.

His approach is a bit different than the method I teach in this list memorization tutorial, but related in terms of a kind of spaced repetition Hopkins worked out for himself.

When it comes to learning the lines of a movie script or play, Hopkins does use a lot of repetition.

But it is absolutely not rote learning.

That’s because he doesn’t just read a script or a set of instructions while learning.

No, Hopkins attacks the material with a pen and adds special marks that turn each page into a kind of private code.

And that’s exactly what I tried to do as you can see on this page I worked on from Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus:

Some people will protest that not only is Hopkins using rote when it comes to memorizing lines from a script, but that his rote reaches obsessive levels.

That’s because he goes through the process of reading and marking up his scripts multiple times, sometimes 250 times or more.

Having gone through the process myself, even at an admittedly small scale, I can tell you it is absolutely not rote learning.

Looking at a page once it has been marked up automatically moves you from rote repetition to active recall.

Active recall is present any time you place information on a page where you have to stretch your mind. And that’s what Hopkins’ marks achieve.

His process literally transforms each page from a bland field of words into a highly mnemonic landscape.

So when the time to perform arrives, he doesn’t try to recall.

He simply walks the landscape he has laid in his mind.

Or as he puts it:

“Becoming familiar with a script was like picking up stones from a cobblestone street one at a time, studying them, then replacing each in its proper spot. Only then could I look out over the road and know every inch of it spread out before me.”

Having worked with countless actors over the years, or even just people who have seen my TEDx Talk and want to memorize a speech, I feel confident when I tell you this:

The main reason people fail is not because they are trying to copy the memory tips given by other actors. It’s because they have mistaken activity for accomplishment.

And they are trying to move too fast.

On the one hand, this desire to create momentum is understandable.

Speed not only feels like progress. Moving quickly through rote learning can give you doses of what scientists call phasic dopamine (something you can develop a much healthier relationship with through my dopamine-resetting guide for learners).

But when it comes to serious learning and performance, speed is vanity. And as I learned from my podcast interview with actor Ashley Strand who memorized the entire Book of Mark, vanity kills depth.

There’s another problem too that many people who want to memorize large amounts of content face.

As a child, Hopkins was haunted by self-doubt and failure.

His solution?

He not only built a mental container he calls his “Tin Brain Box”.

He also imitated other great polymaths like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin.

Like many other people with polymathic personality traits, Hopkins keeps a commonplace book and uses it to copy poems by hand.

He also carried notebooks when young, and developed a personal note-taking method.

More importantly, he learned to switch off his thoughts, a skill I share the science around in my book, The Victorious Mind.

I mention my book because when Hopkins advises actors and people learning skills like painting, I know exactly what he means when he said, “Remain empty. Don’t think.”

Although this suggestion sounds mystical, it’s pure performance psychology.

You’ve probably had this kind of experience while learning something new. Maybe you’re studying a language or trying to memorize a sales script.

Instead of focusing, your mind keeps intervening and asking questions like, “Am I doing this right?”

When that happens, you’re stuck in the Default Mode Network (DMN), the brain’s internal chatter loop.

Hopkins’ learning technique?

It helps silence the Default Mode Network and then activate the Task Positive Network (TPN).

You can think of the Task Positive Network as being in what some scientists call a state of “flow.”

As Nature puts it in this study, the Default Mode Network is a constant antagonist to that state of flow.

But as I know very well, you can switch off the inner narrator with its endless “blah blah blah.”

Once done, that leaves you free to become the doer.

However, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to perfectly install new skills or imitate the learning processes of others.

I learned this the hard way when I tried Hopkins’ method.

I spent hours marking up pages. Without an example of what one of his scripts looks like, I had to imagine exactly how he draws circles all over his scripts.

But even with the drawings I’ve otherwise had success with on my Zettelkasten and flashcards, I quickly hit a wall.

Not because I’m lazy.

It’s just because my brain needs a different engine.

So I turned back to the same techniques I teach you in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

This is my go-to system for structure, proper mnemonic images, and well-formed Memory Palaces.

Once I gave each line a home using the techniques, the lines from Titus Andronicus I wanted to memorize clicked into place.

And you can watch me recite those lines during the recent Vitamin X live launch celebration training.

Not only did I recite the passage forwards. I demonstrated full Recall Rehearsal and recited them:

Memory Palaces aren’t theoretical. They’re ancient. And they remain one of the most effective tools for embedding information into long-term, actionable memory.

If you’re unfamiliar with the method, here’s the short version:

You take a familiar physical location, such as your apartment, a childhood school, or a route you know well.

Then you assign information to specific points along a path you assign throughout the location. By mentally walking the path, you access the information in order.

It’s not rote memory.

It’s spatial, visual, contextual memory.

And when used properly, it’s incredibly fast. Here’s a walkthrough video of me using it to memorize some poetry:

If you would like to learn how to build and use your own Memory Palaces for acting, speeches, or studies, you can explore the Memory Palace technique through my complete guide here.

After realizing that Hopkins’ memory routine was just not for me, I took a completely different angle.

I put the camera on and attempted to document my memorization process for public consumption.

But soon, something broke inside me.

I couldn’t focus on using the memory techniques I love so much and have covered so extensively in my online mnemonics dictionary.

By putting a camera on and starting the clock, something I’ve done before with success when I competed with Dave Farrow, I found myself locked in the Default Mode Network.

In other words, I started worrying about how I looked instead of focusing on using the Magnetic Memory Method.

For me, real memorization is quiet.

Private.

And for many of us, it resists observation.

When I returned to internal work on my own, no stopwatch, no camera, I shifted back to the ancient art of memory and simply learned the lines.

Hopkins’ genius isn’t something to mimic line by line. His method fits his mind and that’s a beautiful thing.

But the real lesson is that your mind might need something different. And that’s exactly what he says. Go out and explore and find your own method.

What I learned is that memory is not for display. For me, it’s a private practice that leads to increased focus, presence and command over the things I want to say.

Once you understand your learning goals, you can adapt any system to your own cognitive strengths.

For me, that system is the Magnetic Memory Method, and if you’d like to learn to use Memory Palaces for free, grab this course now:

It not only gives you four video lessons and worksheets to help you develop your memory skills.

It also helps you enter the state of flow that makes learning so much easier and more fun.

So what do you say?

I found it refreshing to learn that Hopkins wasn’t a particularly gifted child. He felt behind for much of his life.

But instead of accepting failure, he built a learning system that ultimately helped him master multiple skills.

His memory became the foundation for multiple experiences of development, growth and personal transformation.

If you’ve struggled with memorization, or felt pressure to perform before you’re ready, this is your call to take a step back.

Build your memory.

Explore the many techniques available to you and find the ones that fit your mind. Install them so deeply that learning never feels like work again.

Because when you get it right, it’s not work. It’s not play either.

It’s simply you. 100% present. Enjoying flow.

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