Anthony Hopkins refused to dress down for Hitchcock rehearsals

SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS sported a full suit while rehearsing his role as ALFRED HITCHCOCK to help him get into character.

The Silence of the Lambs star wore padding and facial prosthetics to transform into the portly, smartly-dressed director for Hitchcock after refusing to pile on weight for the role.

But he insisted on turning up to rehearsals alongside co-stars Dame Helen Mirren and Scarlett Johansson in formal clothes to perfect his portrayal of the cinema icon.

He tells Deadline.com, "I spent about an hour and half in make-up each day. I also shaved my head, because I'm quite gray and Hitchcock used dye - that awful red dye. And then, once you get into the mask, I'm not Alfred Hitchcock; I'm Anthony Hopkins playing the guy.

"So I used what I could. I wouldn't go on the set till I was completely dressed. I wouldn't go on in jeans, even in rehearsal. If you're going to rehearse a scene, become the character. I wanted to feel the illusion of what I was trying to do, and that's what I did."