John Hurt

John Hurt

Date of Birth:

Jan 22, 1940

Place of Birth:

Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK

Sir John Vincent Hurt (January 22, 1940 – January 25, 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. He came to prominence for his role as Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons (1966) and gained BAFTA Award nominations for his portrayals of Timothy Evans in 10 Rillington Place (1971) and Quentin Crisp in television film The Naked Civil Servant (1975) – winning his first BAFTA for the latter. He played Caligula in the BBC TV series I, Claudius (1976). Hurt's performance in the prison drama Midnight Express (1978) brought him international renown and earned Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards, along with an Academy Award nomination. His BAFTA-nominated portrayal of astronaut Kane, in the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), notably included a scene where an alien creature burst out of his chest, named by several publications as one of the most memorable moments in cinema history. Hurt earned his third competitive BAFTA, along with his second Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, as Joseph Merrick in David Lynch's biopic The Elephant Man (1980). Other significant roles during the 1980s included Bob Champion in biopic Champions (1984), Mr. Braddock in the Stephen Frears drama The Hit (1984), Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) and Stephen Ward in the drama depicting the Profumo affair, Scandal (1989). Hurt was again BAFTA-nominated for his work in Irish drama The Field (1990) and played the primary villain, James Graham, in the epic adventure Rob Roy (1995). His later films include the Harry Potter film series (2001–11), the Hellboy films (2004 and 2008), supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key (2005), western The Proposition (2005), political thriller V for Vendetta (2005), action adventure Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), sci-fi action Outlander (2008) and the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Hurt reprised his role as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman in New York (2009), which brought his seventh BAFTA nomination. He portrayed the War Doctor in the BBC TV series Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor", in 2013. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors; director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in the world". He possessed what was described as the "most distinctive voice in Britain", likened by The Observer to "nicotine sieved through dirty, moonlit gravel". His voice acting career encompassed films such as Watership Down (1978), The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Plague Dogs (1982), The Black Cauldron (1985), Dogville (2003) and Planet Dinosaur (2011) as well as BBC TV series Merlin (2008–2012). In 2012, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement BAFTA Award, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to cinema". He was knighted in 2015 for his services to drama.

filmography:

Iceberg Iceberg

1987

Spectre Spectre

1977

Monolith Monolith

1987

Rocinante Rocinante

1986

Dogville Dogville

2003

Alien Alien

1979

Jake Speed Jake Speed

1986

On Jupiter On Jupiter

1995

Deadline Deadline

1988

Lost Souls Lost Souls

2000

Red Fox Red Fox

1991

Bait Bait

2002

Break Break

2015

Thumbelina Thumbelina

1994

The Shout The Shout

1978

Ayamé Ayamé

2018

Pride Pride

2004

Jackie Jackie

2016

ChickLit ChickLit

2016

Live Aid Live Aid

1985

Sightseers Sightseers

2012

Boxes Boxes

2007

Aria Aria

1987

Scandal Scandal

1989

Recount Recount

2008

Valiant Valiant

2005

The Field The Field

1990

Hellboy Hellboy

2004

Contact Contact

1997

Bandyta Bandyta

1997

Dead Man Dead Man

1995

Spaceballs Spaceballs

1987

Outlander Outlander

2008

Rob Roy Rob Roy

1995

King Ralph King Ralph

1991

Manderlay Manderlay

2005

Tabloid Tabloid

2001

Vincent Vincent

1987

Windprints Windprints

1990

Monolith Monolith

1993

The Climb The Climb

1998

New Blood New Blood

1999

Hercules Hercules

2014

Champions Champions

1984

Sailcloth Sailcloth

2011

Hiroshima Hiroshima

2005

The Hit The Hit

1984

Wild Bill Wild Bill

1995

King Lear King Lear

1983

Immortals Immortals

2011

Miranda Miranda

2002

Lecture 21 Lecture 21

2008

Partners Partners

1982

Lou Lou

2010

The Ghoul The Ghoul

1975

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