EXCLUSIVE: The Huge Family Pain Ailing Anthony Hopkins, 87, Will Take to His Grave

Hopkins revealed his wife, Stella, had recently reached out to Abigail in an attempt to mend the family rift – but received no reply.

"My wife, Stella, sent an invitation [to Abigail] to come and see us," Hopkins said. "Not a word of response. So I think, okay, fine. I wish her well, but I'm not going to waste blood over that. If you want to waste your life being in resentment, fine, go ahead."

Hopkins shares Abigail with his first wife, British actress Petronella Barker. The pair divorced in 1972, when Abigail was a toddler, and father and daughter had little contact for most of her childhood.

They reconnected in the early 1990s, with Abigail appearing in his films Shadowlands and The Remains of the Day, but the fragile reconciliation didn't last. The two have since drifted apart, and, by his own admission, are no longer in touch.

In his interview, Hopkins spoke reflectively but with finality about the estrangement.

"I could carry resentment over the past, but that's death. You're not living," he said. "You have to acknowledge one thing: that we are imperfect. We're not saints. We're all sinners and saints or whatever we are. We do the best we can."

But friends of the actor insist his words belie a deeper pain.

"He's moved on publicly, but the wound never really healed," said a longtime friend. "Anthony's a proud man, and he channels his emotion through his art. But behind that, there's a sadness he rarely lets anyone see. No matter what he writes in his book, that's something he'll carry forever."

Hopkins continued in the interview: "Life is painful. Sometimes people get hurt. Sometimes we get hurt. But you can't live like that. You have to say, 'Get over it.' And if you can't get over it, fine, good luck to you. I have no judgment. But I did what I could. So that's it. That's all I want to say."

When asked if he hoped Abigail would read his memoir, Hopkins replied curtly: "I'm not going to answer that. No. I don't care."

Yet a source close to the production of his book said that answer masked emotion.

"He says he doesn't care, but of course he does," the insider said. "There's a quiet hope she'll read it – maybe understand him better. But he's given up expecting a response."

Abigail, a musician and filmmaker, has previously spoken of her complicated relationship with her father.

In 2006 she said: "It would have to be a two-way thing, though. We have never really been close. We've never discussed big life issues."

Now based in London, Abigail continues to work in the arts and recently released a new album, Stardust. She also directed the short documentary Under This Sky about her experience surviving stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Those close to Hopkins say he has accepted that reconciliation may never come.

"He's chosen peace over regret," said another friend. "But that doesn't mean the love ever went away. That's the tragedy of it – he'll carry it quietly, all the way to the end."