Co-Curricular
We Did OK, Kid
At the same time I was being inspired by our Theatresports performances this week – including our youngest Years 5 and 6 team and heat-winners Years 7 and 8 – actor Sir Anthony Hopkins was on a press tour for his new memoir, We Did OK, Kid.
I grew up quite familiar with Sir Anthony. Listening to my mother speak in subtle fear at dinner parties about a character named Hannibal Lecter was probably my introduction. Two older sisters meant Legends of the Fall, featuring Brad Pitt, was watched more times in our house during 1995/96 than I can count. For the same reason, Meet Joe Black got a fair few runs in the late 90s.
Convinced that The Silence of the Lambs was a masterpiece, my father, somewhat of a film enthusiast who appreciated Hopkins’ craft, later took me to see Hannibal and Red Dragon, which reprised the role of Dr Lecter. The underrated 2007 film, Fracture is also one that has stayed with me.
Many of our students would recognise him as Odin in the Thor Marvel series. I am yet to see The Two Popes, but it is on the list.
Hopkins was and remains one of my favourite actors. He’s one of those people or actors you can’t quite explain why you like, but you just do. I’m prone to refer to this as the ‘Tom Cruise Effect’; no amount of couch-jumping or wacky behaviour seems to prevent me from enjoying the next Mission Impossible or Top Gun!
In borrowing from a recent review of the memoir, offers a raw and passionate reflection on a remarkable life. Born amid war and hardship, Hopkins' was deemed by teachers and family as a failure with no future. Then one Saturday night, after watching Hamlet (1948), a quiet passion awoke in him that changed everything.
What followed was a powerful career and a life full of struggles with addiction, broken relationships, and eventual sobriety – something he credits to prayer.
In some of the interviews on the press tour, it is easy to see in Hopkins’s possession the insight, reflection, rawness, honesty and controlled emotion that has made him one of the greatest actors in history and a renowned painter, pianist and composer.
It is also easy to see the pain caused by his estrangement from his only child.
Hopkins’s story – much like any our students who stood on stage this week – shows that vulnerability and courage are often intertwined. Whether we’re performing, playing, painting, or leading, growth rarely looks perfect from the start; no matter how brilliant or talented one is. It’s messy, brave, and necessarily human.
A constant throughout Hopkins’s life is an item he carries with him everywhere – a small picture of an anxious three-year-old boy named Tony.
When the boys of St Patrick’s College one day look back at their younger selves and their time here – where so much of life began – they might find themselves saying the same thing as Sir Anthony:
We did OK, kid.
“Once you get the bug of self-improvement - to get better, to learn - it never leaves you.”— Sir Anthony Hopkins“
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 1:6
Adam Watson
Director of Co-Curricular
College Co-Curricular Production 2026
The College Production for 2026 will be School of Rock - the high energy musical that is loud, proud and packed with fun for the whole family!
Based on the hit Jack Black film, this crowd pleaser follows slacker musician Dewey Finn as he bluffs his way into a prestigious prep school and transforms a class of straight A students into a mind-blowing rock band. With heart, humour and powerful anthems, it is a feel-good story about finding your voice and chasing your dreams.
Students who are in Years 7 to 12 in 2026 are invited to audition. Please find further information including how to sign up and audition scripts via the link below.
School of Rock Audition Pack.pdf
If you have any further questions, please email rebecca.duff@spc.nsw.edu.au.
Rebecca Duff
Head of Performing Arts