John Hurt
Acting
Born: January 22, 1940 · Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Died: January 25, 2017 (aged 77)
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
Alien
1979
V for Vendetta
2006
Snowpiercer
2013
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2008
Hellboy
2004
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006
Contact
1997
Hercules
2014
Photos (11)
Movies (190)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Mr Ollivander
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Ollivander
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Ollivander
Alien
Kane
V for Vendetta
Adam Sutler
Hercules
Cotys
Snowpiercer
Gilliam
Contact
S. R. Hadden
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Professor Harold Oxley
Spaceballs
John Hurt
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Narrator (voice)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Trevor Bruttenholm
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Control
Immortals
Old Zeus
The Black Cauldron
The Horned King (voice)
Hellboy
Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm
The Skeleton Key
Ben Devereaux
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Winston Smith
The Elephant Man
John Merrick
Thumbelina
Mr. Mole (voice)
Outlander
Rothgar
The Lord of the Rings
Aragorn (voice)
Dogville
Narrator (voice)
Melancholia
Dexter
New York, I Love You
Bellhop
Midnight Express
Max
Dead Man
John Scholfield
Only Lovers Left Alive
Christopher Marlowe
The Tigger Movie
Narrator (voice)
Valiant
Felix (voice)
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Dr. Iannis
Rob Roy
John Graham
A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures
Grandpa Sammy (voice)
Watership Down
Hazel (voice)
The Gruffalo
Owl (voice)
The Oxford Murders
Arthur Seldom
Heaven's Gate
Billy Irvine
Jackie
The Priest
The Proposition
Jellon Lamb
A Man for All Seasons
Richard Rich
Manderlay
Narrator (voice)
Owning Mahowny
Victor Foss
King Ralph
Graves
The Hit
Braddock
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice)
The Limits of Control
Guitar
Lost Souls
Father Lareaux
Waking Sleeping Beauty
The Horned King (voice) (archive footage)
Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie
Carnak
The Plague Dogs
Snitter (voice)
Wild Bill
Charley Prince
The Osterman Weekend
Lawrence Fassett
Romeo.Juliet
La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice)
The Gruffalo's Child
The Owl (voice)
Scandal
Stephen Ward
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
The War Doctor
10 Rillington Place
Timothy Evans
White Mischief
Gilbert Colville
Sightseers
Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
44 Inch Chest
Old Man Peanut
Night Crossing
Peter Strelzyk
Damascus Cover
Miki
Frankenstein Unbound
Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice)
History of the World: Part I
Jesus - The Roman Empire
Jake Speed
Syd
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
The Doctor (War) (picture) (uncredited)
Miranda
Christian
Shooting Dogs
Christopher
Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure: The Movie
Sailor John (voice)
Aria
The Actor
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
The Countess
The Disappearance
Atkinson
The Journey
Harry Patterson
Bait
Jack Blake
Recount
Warren Christopher
Second Best
Uncle Turpin
The World of Jim Henson
The Storyteller (archive footage)
The Shout
Anthony Fielding
Doctor Who at the Proms
The Doctor (War) (archive footage)
The Naked Civil Servant
Quentin Crisp
Jayne Mansfield's Car
Kingsley Bedford
The Bengali Night
Lucien Metz
Crime and Punishment
Porfiry, chief investigator
Short Order
Felix
Pride
Harry (voice)
The Pied Piper
Franz
Love and Death on Long Island
Giles De'Ath
Hiroshima
Narrator (voice)
The Field
Bird' O'Donnell
David Macaulay: Pyramid
Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice)
Poison Candy
Robert Burger
Krapp's Last Tape
Krapp
The Peddler
Alec Cassell
Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs
Malcolm Scrawdyke
Once Upon a Halloween
The Horned King (voice) (archive sound)
Brighton Rock
Phil Corkery
More Than Honey
Narrator (english voice)
The Alien Saga
Narrator (voice)
V for Vendetta: Unmasked
Adam Sutler
Monolith
Villano
The Confession
Priest
If... Dog... Rabbit
Sean Cooper
Tender Loving Care
Dr. Turner
Brute
Babits
Verity Lambert: Drama Queen
2008
Sinful Davey
Davey Haggart
Thames Film
Narrator
Tabloid
Vince
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima
Narrator (voice)
The Commissioner
James morton
Partners
Kerwin
You're Dead...
Maitland
Champions
Bob Champion
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
The War Doctor (archive voice)
The Sailor from Gibraltar
John
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor
The War Doctor
All the Little Animals
Mr. Summers
The Wild and the Willing
Phil Corbett
New Blood
Alan White
An Englishman in New York
Quentin Crisp
Boxes
Fanny's father
From the Hip
Douglas Benoit
The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death
The Storyteller
Great Moments in Aviation
Rex Goodyear
The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant
The Storyteller
Who Bombed Birmingham?
Chris Mullin
Vincent
(voice)
Iceberg
Narrator (voice)
My Name Is Lenny
Leslie Salmon
King Lear
The Fool
The Climb
Chuck Langer
Ayamé
Narrator (voice)
The Storyteller: Sapsorrow
The Storyteller
Lapse of Memory
Conrad Farmer
The Ghoul
Tom Rawlings
The Snipist
The Ministry
Wimbledon The Official Film 2014
Narrator
Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers
Narrator (voice)
After Darkness
Peter Hunningford
The Storyteller: The True Bride
The Storyteller
Lou
Doyle
Three Dangerous Ladies
Lt. George Simmonds
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins
Richard Forbush
Dark at Noon
Anthony / Le Marquis
Red Fox
Archie Carpenter
Success Is the Best Revenge
Dino Montecurva
Love at First Sight
Arthur
ChickLit
Francis Bonar
Picture Windows: Two Nudes Bathing
Marquis de Prey
The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog
The Storyteller
The Day of the Doctor: Cinema Intro
The War Doctor
Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill
Man from Maybury Hill
Stream Line
Chandler
Before Winter Comes
Lieutenant Pilkington
Monolith
Narrator (voice)
Spectre
Mitri Cyon
Paul McCartney: From Rio to Liverpool
Narrator (voice)
The Storyteller: The Luck Child
The Storyteller
Whistle and I'll Come to You
James Parkin
Night Train
Michael Poole
This Is My Street
Charlie
I Dreamt I Woke Up
Boorman's Alter Ego
The Hunting of the Snark
The Narrator
The Storyteller: A Story Short
The Storyteller
That Good Night
Ralph
Lecture 21
Mondrian Kilroy
Deadline
Granville Jones
Windprints
Charles Rutherford
A.K.A Nadia
347
East of Elephant Rock
Nash
The Plot Against Harold Wilson
Narrator (voice)
The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm
Narrator (voice)
A Dinner of Herbs
Verse Reader
In Love with Alma Cogan
MC
In Search of Gregory
Daniel
23 Degrees, 5 Minutes
Professor Orit
Shadowing the Third Man
Narrator (voice)
Break
Jack
The Storyteller: Fearnot
The Storyteller
Rabbit Ears - Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
Narrator (voice)
Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict
Narrator (voice)
The Alchemist's Letter
The Alchemist (voice)
Sailcloth
Man
Back to Utopia
Professor Peter Panludic (voice)
Shaolin: Wheel of Life
Narrator (voice)
The Journey – Stories from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
Narrator
Six Characters in Search of An Author
The Father
Dmitri Shostakovich: A Man of Many Faces
Narator
Centenary: The BP Story
Narrator (voice)
TV Shows (37)
Doctor Who
The Doctor · 1 eps
Saturday Night Live
March Hare · 1 eps
Play for Today
Alec Cassell · 1 eps
NOVA
Narrator · 1 eps
Great Performances
Narrator · 1 eps
Merlin
Kilgharrah (voice) · 65 eps
Natural World
Narrator · 2 eps
Screen Two
Rex Goodyear · 1 eps
Screen Two
Jack Lee · 1 eps
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Bob · 1 eps
ITV Playhouse
Guy Beresford · 1 eps
Performance
The Father · 1 eps
Playhouse Presents
The Ministry (voice) · 1 eps
NET Playhouse
Peter Heywood · 1 eps
The Sweeney
Tony Grey · 1 eps
ScreenPlay
Alfred · 1 eps
The Hollow Crown
The Chorus · 1 eps
The Storyteller
The Storyteller · 9 eps
Gideon's Way
Freddy Tisdale · 1 eps
I, Claudius
Caligula · 5 eps
A Ghost Story for Christmas
James Parkin · 1 eps
The Jim Henson Hour
The Storyteller (archive footage) · 5 eps
Watership Down
General Woundwort (voice) · 3 eps
The Last Panthers
Tom · 6 eps
The Hollywood Greats
1 eps
Human Planet
Narrator (voice) · 8 eps
Masters of Science Fiction
Samswope · 1 eps
The Confession
Priest · 10 eps
Planet Dinosaur
Narrator · 6 eps
Labyrinth
Audric Baillard · 2 eps
Shades of Greene
Fred · 1 eps
Picture Windows
Marquis de Prey · 1 eps
Armchair Theatre
Joe · 1 eps
Wessex Tales
Joshua Harlborough · 1 eps
The Alan Clark Diaries
Alan Clark · 6 eps
Crime and Punishment
Rodion Raskolnikov · 3 eps
Edge of the Universe
Narrator (voice) · 3 eps
Self / Appearances (29)
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
GMTV
Self · 1 eps
Parkinson
Self · 1 eps
Who Do You Think You Are?
Self · 1 eps
Live Aid
Self
Muse of Fire
Self
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
Self / Self - Krapp ("Krapp's Last Tape")
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
Self (archive footage)
Inside the Actors Studio
Self · 1 eps
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
Self
Ballybrando
Self
Whaledreamers
Self
The Beast Within: Making Alien
Self
Swan Lake 3D - Live from the Mariinsky Theatre
The Voice of the Winter Palace / Self
Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation
Self
Henry Fonda for President
Self (archive footage)
On Borrowed Time
Self
Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty
Self
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
Self
I, Claudius: A Television Epic
Self
Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
Self (archive footage)
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch
Self
The Final Reel
Self - Narrator (voice)
Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend'
Self
Resident Alien
Self - Actor
Sunset People
Self
Hello: A Portrait Of Leslie Phillips
Self / Stephen Ward
Interview with John Hurt
Self
The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed
Self