Sir Anthony Hopkins has been haunted by regret since turning down lunch with his grandfather shortly before he died.

The actor has opened up about his grandad in a new interview with the Guardian revealing he was a smart, good-looking man and the last time they saw each other was over a drink in his hometown of Port Talbot, Wales in 1961.

He told the publication: "He was no fashion model but he had a certain vanity about him. Shirt and tie. He used to look at himself in the mirror."

The 'Silence Of The Lambs' star revealed that during their last drink together, his grandad asked him to come home for lunch and he turned the offer down - and he's regretted the decision ever since.

Hopkins went on: "We had a drink together in the Grand hotel in Port Talbot. I was about to go off to RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), full of pep and vinegar – I’d won a scholarship and all that.

"I got up to leave, and my grandfather said, ‘Why don’t you come for lunch? I’ve got some nice fish cooking.’ I said, ‘No, I’ve got to go.’ I left and turned around, and he waved at me from the table. It was a sunny day and that was the last time I saw him.

"He died a few months later and to this day I feel regret. I think, ‘Why didn’t I have lunch with him?'"

Hopkins admits he was just too "busy" and acknowledges he was too young to fully understand what was going on his grandad's life.

He added: "I was too busy. Too young. And now he’s gone. Those memories do stay with you. We don’t realise the pain in people’s lives. Old age and all that."