John Hurt

Born: 1940-01-22 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK

Died: 2017-01-25

Known For: Acting

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.

Filmography

2025

Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War as The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Fonda for President as Self (archive footage)

2024

Doctor Who at the Proms as The Doctor (War) (archive footage)

2021

Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony as Self (archive footage)

2018

Ayamé as Narrator (voice)

2017

Damascus Cover as Miki
That Good Night as Ralph
My Name Is Lenny as Leslie Salmon
The Journey as Harry Patterson

2016

Jackie as The Priest
ChickLit as Francis Bonar
The Pity of War: The Loves and Lives of the War Poets as Siegfried Sassoon
The Final Reel as Self - Narrator (voice)
Back to Utopia as Professor Peter Panludic (voice)

2012

The Hollow Crown as The Chorus
Playhouse Presents as The Ministry (voice)
Labyrinth as Audric Baillard
Sightseers as Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
More Than Honey as Narrator (english voice)
The Snipist as The Ministry
Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers as Narrator (voice)

2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as Ollivander
Immortals as Old Zeus
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as Control
Melancholia as Dexter
Human Planet as Narrator (voice)
Planet Dinosaur as Narrator
The Confession as Priest
The Gruffalo's Child as The Owl (voice)
On Borrowed Time as Self
The Confession as Priest
In Love with Alma Cogan as MC
The Journey – Stories from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa as Narrator
23 Degrees, 5 Minutes as Professor Orit
Sailcloth as Man

2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Ollivander
A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures as Grandpa Sammy (voice)
Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie as Carnak
Brighton Rock as Phil Corkery
Love at First Sight as Arthur
Behind Jim Jarmusch as Self
Whistle and I'll Come to You as James Parkin
Lou as Doyle

2009

The Gruffalo as Owl (voice)
Waking Sleeping Beauty as The Horned King (voice) (archive footage)
44 Inch Chest as Old Man Peanut
The Limits of Control as Guitar
Ballybrando as Self
An Englishman in New York as Quentin Crisp
Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World as Self (archive footage)
Remembrance as Bellhop
Centenary: The BP Story as Narrator (voice)

2008

Merlin as Kilgharrah (voice)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as Professor Harold Oxley
Hellboy II: The Golden Army as Trevor Bruttenholm
New York, I Love You as Bellhop
Outlander as Rothgar
Recount as Warren Christopher
The Oxford Murders as Arthur Seldom
Lecture 21 as Mondrian Kilroy
Verity Lambert: Drama Queen

2007

Masters of Science Fiction as Samswope
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron as Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice)
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas as Self
Boxes as Fanny's father
Interview with John Hurt as Self

2006

V for Vendetta as Adam Sutler
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer as Narrator (voice)
Shooting Dogs as Christopher
Whaledreamers as Self
'V for Vendetta' Unmasked as Adam Sutler
The Plot Against Harold Wilson as Narrator (voice)

2005

Doctor Who as The Doctor
The Skeleton Key as Ben Devereaux
Valiant as Felix (voice)
The Proposition as Jellon Lamb
Manderlay as Narrator (voice)
Hiroshima as Narrator (voice)
Once Upon a Halloween as The Horned King (voice) (archive sound)
Short Order as Felix
Hiroshima: The First Weapon of Mass Destruction as Narrator

2004

Who Do You Think You Are? as Self
Hellboy as Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm
The Alan Clark Diaries as Alan Clark
Pride as Harry (voice)
Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation as Self
Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend' as Self
Shadowing the Third Man as Narrator (voice)

2003

Dogville as Narrator (voice)
The Beast Within: Making Alien as Self
Owning Mahowny as Victor Foss
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film as Self / Self - Krapp ("Krapp's Last Tape")
Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill as Man from Maybury Hill

2002

HypaSpace as Self
Crime and Punishment as Porfiry, chief investigator
Miranda as Christian
The Alien Saga as Narrator (voice)
Bait as Jack Blake
Edge of the Universe as Narrator (voice)
The Twilight Hour: Visions of Ireland's Haunted Past as Self
I, Claudius: A Television Epic as Self

2001

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone as Mr. Ollivander
Captain Corelli's Mandolin as Dr. Iannis
Tabloid as Vince
The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm as Narrator (voice)
The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed as Self
Shaolin: Wheel of Life as Narrator (voice)

2000

The Tigger Movie as Narrator (voice)
Lost Souls as Father Lareaux
Krapp's Last Tape as Krapp

1999

Watership Down as General Woundwort (voice)
All the Little Animals as Mr. Summers
If... Dog... Rabbit as Sean Cooper
New Blood as Alan White
You're Dead... as Maitland

1998

Parkinson as Self
The Commissioner as James morton
The Climb as Chuck Langer
Love and Death on Long Island as Giles De'Ath
Night Train as Michael Poole

1997

Contact as S. R. Hadden
Brute as Babits

1996

Tender Loving Care as Dr. Turner

1995

Dead Man as John Scholfield
Rob Roy as John Graham
Picture Windows as Marquis de Prey
Wild Bill as Charley Prince
Picture Windows: Two Nudes Bathing as Marquis de Prey
Saigon Baby as Jack Lee
On Jupiter as Narrator (voice)

1994

Thumbelina as Mr. Mole (voice)
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues as The Countess
Inside the Actors Studio as Self
Second Best as Uncle Turpin
The World of Jim Henson as The Storyteller (archive footage)
Great Moments in Aviation as Rex Goodyear
Rabbit Ears - Aladdin and the Magic Lamp as Narrator (voice)

1993

GMTV as Self
Monolith as Villano

1992

Six Characters in Search of An Author as The Father
Dark at Noon as Anthony / Le Marquis

1991

Performance as The Father
King Ralph as Lord Percival Graves
Lapse of Memory as Conrad Farmer
Red Fox as Archie Carpenter
Journey to Knock as Alfred
I Dreamt I Woke Up as Boorman's Alter Ego

1990

Frankenstein Unbound as Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice)
The Field as Bird' O'Donnell
Windprints as Charles Rutherford
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch as Self
Who Bombed Birmingham? as Chris Mullin
Romeo.Juliet as La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice)
Resident Alien as Self - Actor
Paul McCartney: From Rio to Liverpool as Narrator (voice)

1989

The Jim Henson Hour
Scandal as Stephen Ward
Little Sweetheart as Robert Burger
David Macaulay: Pyramid as Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice)

1988

The Storyteller as The Storyteller
The Bengali Night as Lucien Metz
Deadline as Granville Jones
The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: The Luck Child as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: A Story Short as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: The True Bride as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: Fearnot as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog as The Storyteller

1987

Spaceballs as John Hurt
Aria as The Actor
White Mischief as Gilbert Colville
From the Hip as Douglas Benoit
The Hunting of the Snark as The Narrator (voice)
Vincent as (voice)
Monolith as Narrator (voice)
Iceberg as Narrator (voice)
Frightmares

1986

Jake Speed as Syd
Thames Film
Rocinante as Bill

1985

The Black Cauldron as The Horned King (voice)
Live Aid as Self
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima as Narrator (voice)
After Darkness as Peter Hunningford

1984

Nineteen Eighty-Four as Winston Smith
The Hit as Braddock
Champions as Bob Champion
Success Is the Best Revenge as Dino Montecurva
Sunset People as Self

1983

Natural World as Narrator
The Osterman Weekend as Lawrence Fassett
King Lear as The Fool

1982

The Plague Dogs as Snitter (voice)
Night Crossing as Peter Strelzyk
Partners as Kerwin
Paul McCartney - Take It Away as Self

1981

History of the World: Part I as Jesus - The Roman Empire

1980

The Elephant Man as John Merrick
Heaven's Gate as Billy Irvine
An Evening with Quentin Crisp as Host

1979

Alien as Kane
Crime and Punishment as Rodion Raskolnikov

1978

Midnight Express as Max
The Lord of the Rings as Aragorn (voice)
Watership Down as Hazel (voice)
The Shout as Anthony Fielding

1977

The Hollywood Greats
The Sunday Drama as Dave
The Disappearance as Atkinson
Spectre as Mitri Cyon
Three Dangerous Ladies as Lt. George Simmonds
East of Elephant Rock as Nash

1976

I, Claudius as Caligula
The Peddler as Alec Cassell
Stream Line as Chandler

1975

Saturday Night Live as March Hare
The Sweeney as Tony Grey
The Ghoul as Tom Rawlings
The Naked Civil Servant as Quentin Crisp

1974

NOVA as Narrator
Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs as Malcolm Scrawdyke
The Playboy of the Western World as Christopher Mahon (Christy Mahon)

1973

Wessex Tales as Joshua Harlborough

1972

The Pied Piper as Franz

1971

Great Performances as Narrator
A Ghost Story for Christmas as James Parkin
10 Rillington Place as Timothy Evans
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins as Richard Forbush
Green Julia as Bob

1970

Play for Today as Alec Cassell

1969

ITV Saturday Night Theatre as Bob
In Search of Gregory as Daniel
Before Winter Comes as Lieutenant Pilkington
Sinful Davey as Davey Haggart

1967

ITV Playhouse as Guy Beresford
The Sailor from Gibraltar as John

1966

A Man for All Seasons as Richard Rich

1965

Gideon's Way as Freddy Tisdale

1964

This Is My Street as Charlie

1962

The Wild and the Willing as Phil Corbett

1961

Drama 61-67 as Private Briggs

1956

Armchair Theatre as Joe

1944

Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee