Anthony Hopkins, composer? How the actor collaborated with Gustavo Dudamel on his debut album

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Set us as preferred Life begins as a fanfare — a regal entry heralded by brass — and ends as a solo cello lament and the serene acceptance of death as sung by a choir.Everything in between is a dream, at least according to Anthony Hopkins, composer of orchestral music.The renowned actor has played piano his whole life, and formally written music for at least 30 years, but it might still surprise many to learn that later this month Hopkins will release his debut album, “Life Is a Dream,” on Decca Classics.

Featuring 12 tracks written over decades, the music was recorded by London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the soon-to-depart music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.Such an impressive classical pedigree belies the “gremlins of self-doubt” that have plagued Hopkins for much of his life.“I’ve been walking around with a question mark over my head,” Hopkins, 88, said during a recent interview at the Hotel Bel-Air.“Maybe I suffer from impostor syndrome.” Books In his memoir, legendary actor Anthony Hopkins dissects how he approached the biggest roles of his career, being bullied as a child and confronting his alcoholism.It all started — both the music and the doubt — in childhood, when “Tony” was growing up in the Welsh suburb of Margam where his father was a tough, no-nonsense baker.“In school, I was a complete idiot,” said Hopkins, sitting comfortably with a cup of tea and a plate of Fig Newtons.

“Didn’t have a clue, you know.And that’s why people who are poor students sometimes become very successful — because they fight against the odds.”He was hopeless at math and likely dyslexic, but said he was utterly transfixed by music.

Hopkins remembers going backstage to get an autograph from the Spanish pianist José Iturbi when he played a...