At the 2021 Academy Awards, Anthony Hopkins became the oldest person to win the “Best Actor” category for his movie “The Father.”

In “The Father”, Hopkins plays the patriarch of a family dealing with progressive memory loss and refusing to accept his dementia diagnosis. Hopkins’ character is in denial about the toll that the disease has taken on his memory and he is unwilling to admit that he can no longer manage life on his own. He sees leaving his home and accepting care as an unacceptable change, no matter how necessary it might be or how hard his family tries to convince him that they can no longer manage his care. The film also focuses on the characters’ family’s struggle to deal with his denial about his condition even as they give up more and more of their own lives to accommodate his care.

“The Father” dramatizes a reality faced by millions of families, individuals, and caregivers affected by Alzheimer’s. Mr. Hopkins also won a Best Actor Oscar in 1994 for playing the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter. His win at 83 for “The Father” is a reminder that the specter of dementia can be just as frightening. Anthony Hopkins’ searing performance in the film highlights the importance of decreasing the stigma around an Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and the value of compassion for those who suffer from the disease.