Who doesn’t love Anthony Hopkins? He’s the ridiculously talented grandpa we always wanted, and need. Now that he’s in HBO’s big show Westworld, we’re getting to see a whole other side to the legendary actor.

Hollywood Reporter got the scoop on how his cast mates feel acting next to such an icon:

Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores), on her first scene with Hopkins, and how he kept changing his performance: “When Anthony and I did that scene, he did every single take differently. I thought I might be able to get clues from his performance, and then it changed every time. So I was like, ‘Aw, man! It could be anything!’ He blew me away with his acting. Of course, we all know Anthony Hopkins is one of the greatest performers of our time, but seeing him in person and seeing those subtleties and seeing them change every take was just like watching Da Vinci paint. It reminded me why I love what I do. It was unbelievable. I even forgot I was naked! It was that good!”

Jeffrey Wright (Bernard and Arnold), on how Hopkins slips into his character’s skin: “When I’m working with him, I just see Robert Ford, with absolute clarity. He so fully wraps his entire being around language in his performance. There’s such an organic relationship between his words and his thoughts. That’s the thing that is most striking to me about working with him: The way he so fully and comprehensively expresses intelligence. For me, he is Ford. I don’t make a distinction in the process of working with him, between him and Anthony Hopkins. That’s what’s fantastic about working with an actor that gives you everything. He is that.”

Sidse Babett Knudsen (Theresa), on her final scene on the show, opposite Hopkins as a deadly Robert Ford: “That distance that we had between us was pretty constant in those last minutes. But when he just moves two centimeters forward, the tiniest movement made such a difference. It felt very, very organic. And I just remember when he came up and whispered in my ear. It was something that he just did. It was just … ah. Clarice never got that!”

Evan Rachel Wood once again, on the enormous pressure she felt in killing off Hopkins’ character: “I felt terrible! I read [the finale] and didn’t know it was coming. It was on the very last page. I threw the script down and walked away with my mouth open for a good hour. I just couldn’t believe it. When I got to set the first time I saw Anthony after I read it, I walked up to him and said, ‘I am so sorry. I am so sorry I have to kill you!’ And he went, ‘No, no, no. It’s all right. It’s beautiful! It’s really beautiful!’ (Laughs.) He forgave me. He saw the poetry in it. I will say that shooting that scene was one of the most nerve-racking things I have ever had to do because we’re using real guns. We’re very safe with them and they’re not loaded. But dear God, I had to hold a gun up against Anthony Hopkins’ head and pull the trigger, and after every take, I would go, ‘Please God, do not let this be the time that something goes horribly wrong and I am responsible for killing Anthony Hopkins. I won’t be able to handle that.’ (Laughs.) That was terrifying. It was horrible.”

Michelle MacLaren (director), who directed the penultimate episode of Westworld‘s first season: “There were a few times I was so mesmerized by the performance that I forgot to say ‘cut.’ He’s such a lovely, delightful man. He’s very much a collaborator. When you give Anthony Hopkins a note and you get to discuss something and he walks away to give it a try, it’s a really exciting and exhilarating feeling. It’s an honor to direct him. At the end of our first day of shooting, my first assistant director turned to me and said: ‘I gotta go call my mom!’ And I said: ‘Me too!’ (Laughs.) It was a great honor.”

James Marsden (Teddy), speaking about his first scene opposite Hopkins, which featured an entirely unclothed Marsden: “I never thought I would be spending my first scene with Anthony Hopkins, one of the greatest and one of my favorite actors of all time, in my absolute nakedness … but we sat there and Tony, as he likes to be called, launched into stories about Marlon Brando. He did impersonations of Brando. He had different theories about acting, and talked about Gregory Peck, and how everyone used to work. It was fascinating. And then you would see him basically bring himself back online when the camera’s rolling, and he slips into his crazy genius acting. It was such a pleasure to watch, even though I was nude.”