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Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins' first NFT art collection, entitled “The Eternal Collection,” has sold out in under seven minutes on NFT marketplace OpenSea.
The collection is a series of over 1,000 original art pieces inspired by the actor’s decades-long career in Hollywood, with visual nods to his performances in films such as Silence of the Lambs, where he won an Oscar for his performance as Hannibal Lecter, and TV series Westworld.
The pieces, with names like “The Eternal,” “The Jester,” and “The Lover,” are said to conceptualize “an interpretation of the vast character archetypes Sir Anthony Hopkins has portrayed” in his career according to the project’s marketing.
THE ETERNAL COLLECTION SOLD OUT IN LESS THAN 7 MINUTES 🎭
THE FASTEST SELL OUT IN @opensea HISTORY 😮💨
Thank you @AnthonyHopkins✌🏽 pic.twitter.com/KYH0T1hXeu
— Orange Comet (@OrangeCometNFT) October 13, 2022
The collection stems from a collaboration with Orange Comet Inc., an LA-based NFT and Web3-focused design agency, whose co-founders include Hollywood producer Dave Broome, ex-NFL player Kurt Warner, and musicians Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
The launch was beset by some technical issues, however, and was delayed by over 45 minutes due to issues related to “high demand.”
Adding this milestone to the repertoire. Thank you, everyone. Thrilling day.
🧑🏼🚀🚀 https://t.co/GCX1OipJoA— AHopkins.eth (@AnthonyHopkins) October 13, 2022
Besides owning a piece of digital artwork, buyers are also set to receive the chance to rack up some real-world perks, including a one-on-one brunch with Hopkins, autographed physical prints of the artwork, and audio clips of Hopkins discussing the meanings behind the various archetypes.
Orange Comet has not immediately responded to Decrypt's request for comment.
Anthony Hopkins, art and crypto
This isn’t the first time Hopkins has turned his attention toward the art world.
The actor, who claims to have first started painting in the late 1940s, had his first exhibition in 2015 at the independent art gallery Harte International Galleries in Hawaii.
Since then the actor has had exhibitions in London, New York, Edinburgh, and Las Vegas, with these mainly featuring semi-abstract portraits and landscapes reportedly influenced by French cubist Francis Picabia and English painter Lucian Freud.
Though this is the actor’s first art collection that leverages blockchain technology, it’s not his first foray into the NFT world.
The actor played a starring role in the 2021 thriller film Zero Contact, directed by Rick Dugdale, which was released via the NFT platform Vuele to mixed reviews.
This may also not be the last time we see Hopkins turn his attention to the NFT space.
“Entering the space of NFT is like being on the moon, In awe of the limitless dimensions of technology and art,” he said in a Twitter post.
Entering the space of NFT is like being on the moon. In awe of the limitless dimensions of technology and art. #TheEternalCollection @opensea @OrangeCometNFT @InnerCityArts https://t.co/yEgRKGgfgi pic.twitter.com/8vVFpV7VHP
— AHopkins.eth (@AnthonyHopkins) October 12, 2022
Not all celebrity-backed NFT collections have been successful in terms of holding their value, however.
An NFT piece launched by musician Grimes for $7,500 as part of a $5.8m collection in February 2021, resold for just $1,200 in November 2021.
The floor price for the collections currently sits at 0.819 ETH on OpenSea, with 14% of the collection listed for resale.