Sir John Vincent Hurt,
CBE (22 January 1940 – 27 January 2017)
[1][2]
was an English actor and voice actor whose career has spanned six
decades. He initially came to prominence for his supporting role as
Richard Rich in the film
A Man for All Seasons (1966). After this, he played leading roles as
Quentin Crisp in the film
The Naked Civil Servant (1975),
John Merrick in
David Lynch's biopic
The Elephant Man (1980),
Winston Smith in the dystopian drama
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), Mr. Braddock in the
Stephen Frears drama
The Hit (1984), and
Stephen Ward in the drama depicting the
Profumo affair,
Scandal (1989). He is also known for his television roles such as
Caligula in
I, Claudius (1976), and the
War Doctor in
Doctor Who.
[3][4]
Hurt's other films include the prison drama
Midnight Express (1978), the science-fiction horror film
Alien (1979), the adventure film
Rob Roy (1995), the political thriller
V for Vendetta (2006), the sci-fi adventure film
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), the
Harry Potter film series (2001–11), the
Hellboy films (2004 and 2008), and the Cold War espionage film
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). His character's final scene in
Alien has been named by a number of publications as one of the most memorable in cinematic history.
[5]
Recognized for his distinctive rich voice,
[6] he also enjoyed a successful
voice acting career in films such as
Watership Down (1978), the animated
The Lord of the Rings (1978),
The Black Cauldron (1985) and
Dogville (2003), as well as the
BBC television series
Merlin.
Among other honours, he received two
Academy Award nominations, a
Golden Globe Award, and four
BAFTA Awards, with the fourth being a Lifetime Achievement recognition for his outstanding contribution to British cinema.
[7] He was knighted in 2015 for his services to drama.