On April 25, 2021, Anthony Hopkins broke an Academy Awards record when he won the Oscar for best actor for his performance in "The Father." The 83 year old is now the oldest winner of an Oscar for acting. The late Christopher Plummer — who was 82 when he won an Oscar for his work in "Beginners" in 2012 — previously held the record. In honor of Anthony's feat, Wonderwall.com is taking a look back at the Welsh actor and more stars over 80 who are still working hard in Hollywood. First, let's brush up on some of Anthony's recent accomplishments… Over the course of the past few years, he's starred on "Westworld" and appeared in three "Thor" movies. He also earned Oscar and Golden Globe nominations in 2020 for his work in "The Two Popes." Keep reading to see the other octogenarians (and a few nonagenarians!) who aren't retiring anytime soon…
Jane Fonda, who was born in 1937, is only getting better with age: Currently, she's in pre-production on the seventh and final season of the hit Netflix show "Grace and Frankie," for which she's scored three SAG Award nominations and one Emmy nomination since 2017. In recent years, Jane has also voiced Shuriki on the Disney Junior series "Elena of Avalor" and starred in the romantic dramedy "Book Club." She was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award during the 2021 Golden Globe Awards on Feb. 28, 2021.
Donald Sutherland, who was born in 1935, has been acting on television since the early '60s, and his career continues to flourish today: The Canadian actor, who starred as President Snow in the "Hunger Games" franchise, just scored a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as the father of Nicole Kidman's character on HBO Max's "The Undoing." He also portrayed J. Paul Getty on "Trust" and appeared in a number of films in recent years including "Ad Astra" and "The Burnt Orange Heresy."
RELATED: Stars turning 80 in 2021
Next up, a living legend! Rita Moreno is the first ever performer to become an EGOT winner — she picked up her Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards by the '70s. Rita, who was born in 1931, is just as busy now: She recently headlined the rebooted "One Day at a Time" and had stints on "Bless This Mess" and "Jane the Virgin." Up next, she'll take on a new role in the Steven Spielberg-directed adaptation of the hit Broadway musical "West Side Story." (She shot into the spotlight playing Anita in the 1961 version.) A documentary about her life and career, "Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It," recently made waves at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2020, Al Pacino scored Oscar, Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for his work in "The Irishman." In 2021, he earned yet another Golden Globe nomination for his performance on the first season of Amazon's "Hunters." The "Godfather" alum, who was born in 1940, also appeared in 2019's "Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood" and has a few buzzy projects in the works: He's set to star as Aldo Gucci in the star-studded crime drama "Gucci," and he'll take on the title role in an upcoming big-screen adaptation of "King Lear."
In the past few years, "The Lord of the Rings" and "X-Men" alum Ian McKellen has portrayed Cogsworth in the 2017 live-action remake of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," starred opposite Helen Mirren in the 2019 crime-thriller "The Good Liar" and brought Gus the Theatre Cat to life in the 2019 big-screen adaptation of the musical "Cats." The two-time Oscar nominee, who was born in 1939, celebrated his 80th birthday in 2019 by starring in a live one-man show that toured across the U.K. and Ireland. Once the coronavirus pandemic has come to an end, he's set to return to the title role in a production of "Hamlet" at the Theatre Royal Windsor in London. Impressive, right?!
It's a big year for James Earl Jones: In addition to turning 90 in 2021, he also returned to the role of King Jaffe Joffer in "Coming 2 America." In recent years, the Oscar-nominated actor has focused primarily on voice work, voicing Darth Vader in "Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker" and in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and returning to the role of Mufasa in the 2019 "Lion King" reboot.
It might be hard to believe, but Hector Elizondo was born in 1936! The American actor is best known for his roles in films like "Pretty Woman" and "The Princess Diaries," but he's keeping just as busy these days. He's currently starring on the ninth and final season of "Last Man Standing," and he appears in Sia's controversial feature film directorial debut, the 2021 musical drama "Music."
Seven-time Oscar nominee Judi Dench — who was born in 1934 and won an Academy Award for "Shakespeare in Love" in 1999 — shows no signs of slowing down. In recent years, the English actress — who scored Golden Globe and SAG Award nominations for her performance in 2017's "Victoria & Abdul" — has starred in "Murder on the Orient Express," "Cats," "Artemis Fowl," "All Is True," "Tulip Fever," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" and more.
Morgan Freeman's voice is perhaps one of the most recognizable in Hollywood, and it's served him well over the years. So much so that the Oscar-winning actor, who was born in 1937, continues to work steadily in the entertainment industry. In the past few years, he's starred in "The Comeback Trail," "Angel Has Fallen," "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms," "Just Getting Started," "Going in Style" and more.
Best known for helping terrify audiences in "The Exorcist" back in 1974 — and in "Requiem for a Dream" in 2000, though for much different reasons — Ellen Burstyn continues to headline lauded films today. Recently, she earned raves for her work in the 2021 drama "Pieces of a Woman." In the past few years, she's also appeared in "Lucy in the Sky" and in "The Tale."
Since 2019, Oscar winner Alan Arkin, who was born in 1934, has scored two Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations and four SAG Award nominations for his work on "The Kominsky Method." He also starred in 2017's "Going in Style," popped up in 2019's "Dumbo" and appeared in 2020's "Spenser Confidential." Up next, he'll voice a character in "Minions: The Rise of Gru."
Ed Asner, who was born in 1929, is best known for his role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and for being the most honored male performer in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards — he's won seven statues! These days, he's keeping busy with stints on "Cobra Kai," "Briarpatch," "Dead to Me" and more.
It's hard to believe that Michael Caine was born in 1933! The English actor has had many critically acclaimed roles over his career of about seven decades in projects including 1966's "Alfie," 1975's "The Man Who Would Be King," 1983's "Educating Rita" and Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" trilogy. Recently, he appeared in "Going in Style," "Come Away," "Tenet" and "Twist." He'll soon return to the role of Arthur Tressler in "Now You See Me 3."
Nick Nolte, who was born in 1941, recently starred on the Spectrum miniseries "Paradise Lost." He also voiced Kuiil on three episodes of "The Mandalorian" in 2019 and starred in the 2019 action flick "Angel Has Fallen." The three-time Oscar nominee, who scored a Golden Globe nomination in 2017 for his work on the Epix comedy "Graves," turned 80 in 2021, but that isn't slowing him down: Up next, he's set to star alongside Josh Duhamel and Abbie Cornish in the crime thriller "Blackout."
Lily Tomlin is currently in pre-production on the seventh and final season of "Grace and Frankie," for which she's earned four Emmy nominations, a Golden Globe nomination and three SAG Award nominations. The Oscar nominee, who was honored with the Life Achievement Award during the 2017 SAG Awards, was born in 1939. In addition to her work on the hit Netflix series, which she also executive produces, Lily voiced Aunt Man in 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Patrick Stewart, who was born in 1940, recently returned to one of his most iconic roles — Captain Jean-Luc Picard — on the CBS All Access series "Star Trek: Picard," which debuted in 2020 and is set to enter its second season in 2022. (He also serves as an executive producer.) But that's not all… In recent years, he starred in 2017's "Logan," appeared in the 2019 "Charlie's Angels" reboot, voiced a character in "The Emoji Movie" and continued his work as a voice actor on "American Dad!"
Jon Voight, who was born in 1938, starred on "Ray Donovan" from 2013 to 2020 — he won a Golden Globe and scored two Emmy nominations for his efforts. (He'll reportedly return to his "Ray Donovan" role in the upcoming movie.) Since the Showtime series came to an end, he's focused on a pair of political films: the upcoming historical dramas "Roe v. Wade" and "Reagan," in which he's set to star as Russian oligarch Viktor Novikov.
Harvey Keitel, who was born in 1939, has starred in a number of lauded films in recent years. In addition to his role in Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman," which racked up 10 Oscar nominations, he appeared in the 2020 war dramas "The Painted Bird" and "Fatima," voiced Gondo in Wes Anderson's "Isle of Dogs" and starred in indie films "See You Soon," "Esau," "The Last Man," "First We Take Brooklyn," "Lies We Tell," "Madame" and more.
Martin Sheen, who was born in 1940, is currently in pre-production on the seventh and final season of "Grace and Frankie." You can also catch him as J. Edgar Hoover in the lauded 2021 historical drama "Judas and the Black Messiah."
James Cromwell, who was born in 1940, scored an Emmy nomination in 2020 for his work on "Succession." In recent years, the Oscar nominee has starred in "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," "Marshall," "Emperor" and "The Promise." He also appeared on the shows "The Detour," "Berlin Station," "Counterpart" and "The Young Pope."
In the past few years, Robert Redford, who was born in 1936, earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in 2018's "The Old Man & the Gun," popped up in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame," voiced a character in the indie comedy "Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia," which premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and executive produced a number of films, including the 2019 drama "The Mustang" and the 2020 documentary "Public Trust."
Age is just a number for Robert Duvall, who was born in 1931. The actor got his big break in "To Kill a Mockingbird" in 1962 and picked up an Academy Award nomination 10 years later for his work as Tom Hagen in 1972's "The Godfather." Nearly five decades later, Robert continues to grace the big screen. In 2018, he starred in the Steve McQueen-directed crime-thriller "Widows," and he's set to star in two upcoming sports flicks: the basketball dramedy "Hustle" and the historical football drama "12 Mighty Orphans."
Captain Kirk from "Star Trek" turned 90 in 2021 — but you'd never know it! William Shatner has kept busy since his start in the '50s. Just in the last few years, he's portrayed a version of himself on "The Big Bang Theory," starred in the indie horror flick "Devil's Revenge," popped up on two episodes of the Canadian crime dramedy "Private Eyes" and released several albums, including a holiday album and a blues album.
Since her role on "Hot in Cleveland" came to an end in 2015, Betty White, who turned 99 in 2021, has popped up on episodes of "Bones" and "Young & Hungry." She also voiced a character in 2019's "Toy Story 4." Not too shabby!
Imagine nabbing an Academy Award for your first film? That's how Angela Lansbury's career in Hollywood started out! Her work in her first movie, 1944's "Gaslight," earned her that esteemed nomination. And her career has only flourished since then, from another Academy Award nomination for "The Picture of Dorian Gray" to accolades for her hit television show "Murder, She Wrote" in the '80s. Angela, who was born in 1925, has no intention of retiring anytime soon: She voiced a character in the 2018 remake of "The Grinch," had a small role in 2018's "Mary Poppins Returns" and is set to appear in the upcoming drama "The Adventures of Buddy Thunder."
In the past few years, Joan Collins, who was born in 1933, has appeared on "The Royals" and on the eighth season of "American Horror Story." Up next, the English actress, who famously starred on the legendary '80s series "Dynasty," is set to star on the medieval series "Glow & Darkness."
Lisa Lu shot into the spotlight playing family matriarch Ah Ma in 2018's "Crazy Rich Asians." But that wasn't her only role in 2018 — she also had a part in "An Impossibly Small Object." The actress, who was born in 1927, previously appeared in 1993's "The Joy Luck Club" and in the 2009 action flick "2012." Up next, she's set to star in two films currently in production: "The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu" and "A Dream of Red Mansions."