John Hurt
Acting
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.
Media of
John Hurt
Photos (21)
Filmography of
John Hurt
The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
... 2025
The Doctor (War) (archive footage)
... 2024
Self (archive footage)
... 2021
Narrator (voice)
... 2018
Miki
... 2017
Ralph
... 2017
Leslie Salmon
... 2017
Harry Patterson
... 2017
The Priest
... 2016
Siegfried Sassoon
... 2016
Professor Peter Panludic (voice)
... 2016
Self - Narrator (voice)
... 2016
Francis Bonar
... 2016
The Doctor (War) (picture) (uncredited)
... 2015
Sailor John (voice)
... 2015
347
... 2015
Jack
... 2015
The Alchemist (voice)
... 2015
... 2015
Narrator
... 2014
... 2014
Cotys
... 2014
Christopher Marlowe
... 2013
... 2013
The War Doctor
... 2013
The War Doctor
... 2013
The War Doctor (archive voice)
... 2013
The War Doctor
... 2013
Self / Stephen Ward
... 2013
Self
... 2013
Gilliam
... 2013
Kingsley Bedford
... 2013
The Voice of the Winter Palace / Self
... 2013
Narrator (voice)
... 2013
Audric Baillard
... 2013
Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
... 2012
Narrator (voice)
... 2012
Narrator (english voice)
... 2012
The Ministry
... 2012
The Owl (voice)
... 2011
Old Zeus
... 2011
Self
... 2011
... 2011
Control
... 2011
Ollivander
... 2011
Professor Orit
... 2011
... 2011
Dexter
... 2011
Priest
... 2011
Man
... 2011
James Parkin
... 2010
... 2010
Ollivander
... 2010
Arthur
... 2010
Phil Corkery
... 2010
Self
... 2010
Grandpa Sammy (voice)
... 2010
Doyle
... 2010
Owl (voice)
... 2009
Self (archive footage)
... 2009
Self
... 2009
Old Man Peanut
... 2009
Bellhop
... 2009
The Horned King (voice) (archive footage)
... 2009
Guitar
... 2009
Quentin Crisp
... 2009
Narrator (voice)
... 2009
Mondrian Kilroy
... 2008
Bellhop
... 2008
Trevor Bruttenholm
... 2008
Warren Christopher
... 2008
Professor Harold Oxley
... 2008
Rothgar
... 2008
... 2008
Arthur Seldom
... 2008
Fanny's father
... 2007
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice)
... 2007
... 2007
... 2007
Narrator (voice)
... 2006
Self
... 2006
Narrator (voice)
... 2006
Christopher
... 2006
Adam Sutler
... 2006
Jellon Lamb
... 2005
The Horned King
... 2005
Narrator (voice)
... 2005
Ben Devereaux
... 2005
Narrator (voice)
... 2005
Felix (voice)
... 2005
... 2005
Narrator (voice)
... 2004
... 2004
Harry (voice)
... 2004
Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm
... 2004
... 2004
... 2003
Narrator (voice)
... 2003
Man from Maybury Hill
... 2003
Victor Foss
... 2003
Narrator (voice)
... 2002
... 2002
... 2002
Porfiry, chief investigator
... 2002
Jack Blake
... 2002
Christian
... 2002
Narrator (voice)
... 2001
... 2001
Mr. Ollivander
... 2001
Dr. Iannis
... 2001
Narrator (voice)
... 2001
Vince
... 2001
Father Lareaux
... 2000
Krapp
... 2000
Narrator (voice)
... 2000
Alan White
... 1999
Maitland
... 1999
Sean Cooper
... 1999
Mr. Summers
... 1999
Giles De'Ath
... 1998
Chuck Langer
... 1998
James morton
... 1998
Michael Poole
... 1998
Babits
... 1997
S. R. Hadden
... 1997
Dr. Turner
... 1996
John Scholfield
... 1995
Jack Lee
... 1995
Charley Prince
... 1995
Narrator (voice)
... 1995
John Graham
... 1995
Marquis de Prey
... 1995
... 1995
The Storyteller (archive footage)
... 1994
Uncle Turpin
... 1994
Narrator (voice)
... 1994
The Countess
... 1994
Rex Goodyear
... 1994
Mr. Mole (voice)
... 1994
Villano
... 1993
The Father
... 1992
Anthony / Le Marquis
... 1992
Archie Carpenter
... 1991
Boorman's Alter Ego
... 1991
Alfred
... 1991
Conrad Farmer
... 1991
Lord Percival Graves
... 1991
Narrator (voice)
... 1990
Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice)
... 1990
... 1990
Bird' O'Donnell
... 1990
Self - Actor
... 1990
Charles Rutherford
... 1990
Chris Mullin
... 1990
La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice)
... 1990
Robert Burger
... 1989
Stephen Ward
... 1989
Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice)
... 1989
Lucien Metz
... 1988
Granville Jones
... 1988
Gilbert Colville
... 1987
(voice)
... 1987
John Hurt
... 1987
The Actor
... 1987
The Narrator (voice)
... 1987
Douglas Benoit
... 1987
Narrator (voice)
... 1987
Narrator (voice)
... 1987
... 1987
Bill
... 1986
... 1986
Syd
... 1986
Narrator (voice)
... 1985
The Horned King (voice)
... 1985
Self
... 1985
Peter Hunningford
... 1985
Winston Smith
... 1984
Braddock
... 1984
Dino Montecurva
... 1984
Bob Champion
... 1984
Self
... 1984
Lawrence Fassett
... 1983
The Fool
... 1983
Snitter (voice)
... 1982
... 1982
Kerwin
... 1982
Peter Strelzyk
... 1982
Jesus - The Roman Empire
... 1981
Billy Irvine
... 1980
John Merrick
... 1980
... 1980
Kane
... 1979
Aragorn (voice)
... 1978
Hazel (voice)
... 1978
Max
... 1978
Anthony Fielding
... 1978
Atkinson
... 1977
... 1977
Lt. George Simmonds
... 1977
Mitri Cyon
... 1977
Chandler
... 1976
Alec Cassell
... 1976
Quentin Crisp
... 1975
Tom Rawlings
... 1975
Malcolm Scrawdyke
... 1974
Christopher Mahon (Christy Mahon)
... 1974
Franz
... 1972
Richard Forbush
... 1971
Timothy Evans
... 1971
Daniel
... 1969
Davey Haggart
... 1969
Lieutenant Pilkington
... 1969
... 1967
Richard Rich
... 1966
Charlie
... 1964
Phil Corbett
... 1962