Anthony Hopkins 'mistaken for homeless man' while filming BBC film King Lear

The modern-day adaptation co-starring Emma Thompson arrives later this month

(TANNEN MAURY/EPA/REX/Shutterstock)

Sir Anthony Hopkins got so deep into his role as King Lear for a forthcoming BBC adaptation that he was mistaken for a homeless person by a member of the public.

The actor stars in a brand new modern-day version of the Shakespeare play which saw Hopkins pushing his belongings around city streets in character.

However, director Richard Eyre recalled how an unsuspecting member of the public approached Hopkins while filming on-location in Stevenage.

“When we were filming there, a woman in a mobility scooter rode up to Tony, and said, 'You know, there's a hostel up the road... so you might want to take your shopping trolley down there',” Digital Spy reports him as telling an audience following a screening of the film.

Hopkins was mistaken for a homeless man while filming the BBC adaptation (Ross Peters/REX/Shutterstock) (Ross Peters/Rex/Shutterstock)

King Lear wrapped production in a swift 25 days. Running at two hours, it stars Emma Thompson, Florence Pugh, Emily Watson, Jim Broadbent, Andrew Scott and Christopher Eccleston.

Hopkins, who starred in HBO series Westworld, has been developing this version of the play alongside Eyre for years. Sherlock star Scott - who plays Edgar - commended Hopkins' worth ethic, saying: “What I found so extraordinary about him was how ferocious he is about being an actor. He'd come in every day and you'd say, 'How did you sleep?' and he'd say, 'F*** sleep, I didn't sleep'.”

Thompson later heralded the actor as “miraculous.”

King Lear will air on BBC Two in May

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