Acting
John Hurt
EN, DE, HE, KO cinema · 229 credits
Born
22 January 1940
Died
25 January 2017 (aged 77)
Birthplace
Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Also known as John Vincent Hurt · Sir John Hurt · Джон Херт
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
Filmography
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
as The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Henry Fonda for President
as Self (archive footage)
Doctor Who at the Proms
as The Doctor (War) (archive footage)
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
as Self (archive footage)
Ayamé
as Narrator (voice)
Damascus Cover
as Miki
The Journey
as Harry Patterson
That Good Night
as Ralph
My Name Is Lenny
as Leslie Salmon
Jackie
as The Priest
ChickLit
as Francis Bonar
The Pity of War: The Loves and Lives of the War Poets
2016
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)
The Alchemist's Letter
as The Alchemist (voice)
A.K.A Nadia
as 347
Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure: The Movie
as Sailor John (voice)
Break
as Jack
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
as The Doctor (War) (picture) (uncredited)
Hercules
as Cotys
Jayne Mansfield's Car
as Kingsley Bedford
Snowpiercer
as Gilliam
Only Lovers Left Alive
as Christopher Marlowe
Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict
as Narrator (voice)
Muse of Fire
as Self
The Day of the Doctor: Cinema Intro
as The War Doctor
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
as The War Doctor
Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor
as The War Doctor
Hello: A Portrait Of Leslie Phillips
as Self / Stephen Ward
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
as The War Doctor (archive voice)
Swan Lake 3D - Live from the Mariinsky Theatre
as The Voice of the Winter Palace / Self
Doctor Who at the Proms
as The War Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers
as Narrator (voice)
Sightseers
as Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Snipist
as The Ministry
More Than Honey
as Narrator (english voice)
Melancholia
as Dexter
Immortals
as Old Zeus
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
as Control
The Gruffalo's Child
as The Owl (voice)
Sailcloth
as Man
The Confession
as Priest
On Borrowed Time
as Self
23 Degrees, 5 Minutes
as Professor Orit
Brighton Rock
as Phil Corkery
Lou
as Doyle
Waking Sleeping Beauty
as The Horned King (voice) (archive footage)
Whistle and I'll Come to You
as James Parkin
A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures
as Grandpa Sammy (voice)
Love at First Sight
as Arthur
The Limits of Control
as Guitar
The Gruffalo
as Owl (voice)
An Englishman in New York
as Quentin Crisp
44 Inch Chest
as Old Man Peanut
Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
as Self (archive footage)
Ballybrando
as Self
Centenary: The BP Story
as Narrator (voice)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
as Professor Harold Oxley
Outlander
as Rothgar
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
as Trevor Bruttenholm
The Oxford Murders
as Arthur Seldom
Recount
as Warren Christopher
Lecture 21
as Mondrian Kilroy
New York, I Love You
as Bellhop
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron
as Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice)
Boxes
as Fanny's father
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
as Narrator (voice)
V for Vendetta
as Adam Sutler
Shooting Dogs
as Christopher
The Plot Against Harold Wilson
as Narrator (voice)
Whaledreamers
as Self
V for Vendetta: Unmasked
as Adam Sutler
Manderlay
as Narrator (voice)
The Skeleton Key
as Ben Devereaux
Valiant
as Felix (voice)
Once Upon a Halloween
as The Horned King (voice) (archive sound)
The Proposition
as Jellon Lamb
Hiroshima
as Narrator (voice)
Short Order
as Felix
Hellboy
as Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm
Shadowing the Third Man
as Narrator (voice)
Pride
as Harry (voice)
Owning Mahowny
as Victor Foss
Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill
as Man from Maybury Hill
Dogville
as Narrator (voice)
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
as Self / Self - Krapp ("Krapp's Last Tape")
The Alien Saga
as Narrator (voice)
Miranda
as Christian
Crime and Punishment
as Porfiry, chief investigator
Bait
as Jack Blake
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
as Mr Ollivander
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
as Dr. Iannis
Shaolin: Wheel of Life
as Narrator (voice)
Hidden Wars of Desert Storm
as Narrator (voice)
Tabloid
as Vince
Krapp's Last Tape
as Krapp
Lost Souls
as Father Lareaux
The Tigger Movie
as Narrator (voice)
You're Dead...
as Maitland
All the Little Animals
as Mr. Summers
New Blood
as Alan White
If... Dog... Rabbit
as Sean Cooper
The Commissioner
as James morton
Love and Death on Long Island
as Giles De'Ath
The Climb
as Chuck Langer
Night Train
as Michael Poole
Brute
as Babits
Contact
as S. R. Hadden
Tender Loving Care
as Dr. Turner
Dead Man
as John Scholfield
Rob Roy
as John Graham
Wild Bill
as Charley Prince
On Jupiter
1995
On Jupiter
as Narrator (voice)
Saigon Baby
1995
Saigon Baby
as Jack Lee
Picture Windows: Two Nudes Bathing
as Marquis de Prey
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
as The Countess
Second Best
as Uncle Turpin
Great Moments in Aviation
as Rex Goodyear
Thumbelina
as Mr. Mole (voice)
The World of Jim Henson
as The Storyteller (archive footage)
Rabbit Ears - Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
as Narrator (voice)
Monolith
as Villano
Dark at Noon
as Anthony / Le Marquis
Six Characters in Search of An Author
as The Father
King Ralph
as Graves
Red Fox
as Archie Carpenter
I Dreamt I Woke Up
as Boorman's Alter Ego
Lapse of Memory
as Conrad Farmer
Frankenstein Unbound
as Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice)
The Field
as Bird' O'Donnell
Windprints
as Charles Rutherford
Resident Alien
as Self - Actor
Who Bombed Birmingham?
as Chris Mullin
Paul McCartney: From Rio to Liverpool
as Narrator (voice)
Romeo.Juliet
as La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice)
Scandal
as Stephen Ward
Poison Candy
as Robert Burger
David Macaulay: Pyramid
as Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice)
Deadline
as Granville Jones
The Bengali Night
as Lucien Metz
The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog
as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: Fearnot
as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: A Story Short
as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: The Luck Child
as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: Sapsorrow
as The Storyteller
The Storyteller: The True Bride
as The Storyteller
A Dinner of Herbs
as Verse Reader
The Storyteller: The Three Ravens
as The Storyteller
Spaceballs
as John Hurt
From the Hip
as Douglas Benoit
Aria
as The Actor
White Mischief
as Gilbert Colville
The Hunting of the Snark
as The Narrator
Vincent
as Vincent Van Gogh (voice)
Monolith
as Narrator (voice)
Iceberg
as Narrator (voice)
Jake Speed
as Syd
Thames Film
as Narrator
After Darkness
as Peter Hunningford
The Black Cauldron
as The Horned King (voice)
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima
as Narrator (voice)
Live Aid
as Self
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
Journeys through the Darkzone
as Father Grant D'arcy
The Osterman Weekend
as Lawrence Fassett
King Lear
as The Fool
The Plague Dogs
as Snitter (voice)
Partners
as Kerwin
Night Crossing
as Peter Strelzyk
History of the World: Part I
as Jesus - The Roman Empire
The Elephant Man
as John Merrick
Heaven's Gate
as Billy Irvine
Alien
as Kane
The Lord of the Rings
as Aragorn (voice)
Watership Down
as Hazel (voice)
The Shout
as Anthony Fielding
The Disappearance
as Atkinson
Three Dangerous Ladies
as Lt. George Simmonds
Spectre
as Mitri Cyon
Stream Line
as Chandler
The Peddler
as Alec Cassell
The Island
1976
The Island
as Captain Simmonds
The Naked Civil Servant
as Quentin Crisp
The Ghoul
as Tom Rawlings
Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs
as Malcolm Scrawdyke
The Playboy of the Western World
1974
The Playboy of the Western World
as Christopher Mahon (Christy Mahon)
The Pied Piper
as Franz
10 Rillington Place
as Timothy Evans
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins
as Richard Forbush
Sinful Davey
as Davey Haggart
Before Winter Comes
as Lieutenant Pilkington
In Search of Gregory
as Daniel
A Man for All Seasons
as Richard Rich
This Is My Street
as Charlie
The Wild and the Willing
as Phil Corbett