John Hurt

John Hurt

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.

Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
2025
The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who at the Proms
2024
The Doctor (War) (archive footage)
Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony
2021
Self (archive footage)
Ayamé
2018
Narrator (voice)
Damascus Cover
2017
Miki
The Journey
2017
Harry Patterson
That Good Night
2017
Ralph
My Name Is Lenny
2017
Leslie Salmon
Jackie
2016
The Priest
ChickLit
2016
Francis Bonar
The Final Reel
2016
Self - Narrator (voice)
Back to Utopia
2016
Professor Peter Panludic (voice)
The Alchemist's Letter
2015
The Alchemist (voice)
A.K.A Nadia
2015
347
Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure: The Movie
2015
Sailor John (voice)
Break
2015
Jack
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015
The Doctor (War) (picture) (uncredited)
Hercules
2014
Cotys
Wimbledon The Official Film 2014
2014
Narrator
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
2014
Self
Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty
2013
Self
Jayne Mansfield's Car
2013
Kingsley Bedford
Snowpiercer
2013
Gilliam
Only Lovers Left Alive
2013
Christopher Marlowe
Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict
2013
Narrator (voice)
Muse of Fire
2013
Self
The Day of the Doctor: Cinema Intro
2013
The War Doctor
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
2013
The War Doctor
Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor
2013
The War Doctor
Hello: A Portrait Of Leslie Phillips
2013
Self / Stephen Ward
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
2013
The War Doctor (archive voice)
Swan Lake 3D - Live from the Mariinsky Theatre
2013
The Voice of the Winter Palace / Self
Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers
2012
Narrator (voice)
Sightseers
2012
Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
The Snipist
2012
The Ministry
More Than Honey
2012
Narrator (english voice)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
Ollivander
Melancholia
2011
Dexter
Immortals
2011
Old Zeus
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2011
Control
The Gruffalo's Child
2011
The Owl (voice)
Sailcloth
2011
Man
The Confession
2011
Priest
On Borrowed Time
2011
Self
23 Degrees, 5 Minutes
2011
Professor Orit
The Journey – Stories from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
2011
Narrator
In Love with Alma Cogan
2011
MC
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
Ollivander
Brighton Rock
2010
Phil Corkery
Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie
2010
Carnak
Lou
2010
Doyle
Whistle and I'll Come to You
2010
James Parkin
A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures
2010
Grandpa Sammy (voice)
Love at First Sight
2010
Arthur
The Limits of Control
2009
Guitar
The Gruffalo
2009
Owl (voice)
An Englishman in New York
2009
Quentin Crisp
44 Inch Chest
2009
Old Man Peanut
Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
2009
Self (archive footage)
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
The Horned King (voice) (archive footage)
Ballybrando
2009
Self
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2008
Professor Harold Oxley
Outlander
2008
Rothgar
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008
Trevor Bruttenholm
The Oxford Murders
2008
Arthur Seldom
Recount
2008
Warren Christopher
Lecture 21
2008
Mondrian Kilroy
New York, I Love You
2008
Bellhop
Verity Lambert: Drama Queen
2008
The 50 Greatest Television Dramas
2007
Self
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron
2007
Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice)
Boxes
2007
Fanny's father
Interview with John Hurt
2007
Self
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
2006
Narrator (voice)
V for Vendetta
2006
Adam Sutler
Shooting Dogs
2006
Christopher
The Plot Against Harold Wilson
2006
Narrator (voice)
Whaledreamers
2006
Self
Manderlay
2005
Narrator (voice)
The Skeleton Key
2005
Ben Devereaux
Valiant
2005
Felix (voice)
Once Upon a Halloween
2005
The Horned King
The Proposition
2005
Jellon Lamb
Hiroshima
2005
Narrator (voice)
Short Order
2005
Hellboy
2004
Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm
Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation
2004
Self
Shadowing the Third Man
2004
Narrator (voice)
Pride
2004
Harry (voice)
Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend'
2004
Self
Owning Mahowny
2003
Victor Foss
The Beast Within: Making Alien
2003
Self
Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill
2003
Man from Maybury Hill
Dogville
2003
Narrator (voice)
The Alien Saga
2002
Narrator (voice)
Miranda
2002
Christian
Crime and Punishment
2002
Porfiry, chief investigator
Bait
2002
Jack Blake
I, Claudius: A Television Epic
2002
Self
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001
Mr. Ollivander
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
2001
Dr. Iannis
Shaolin: Wheel of Life
2001
Narrator (voice)
The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm
2001
Narrator (voice)
Tabloid
2001
Vince
The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed
2001
Self
Krapp's Last Tape
2000
Krapp
Lost Souls
2000
Father Lareaux
The Tigger Movie
2000
Narrator (voice)
You're Dead...
1999
Maitland
All the Little Animals
1999
Mr. Summers
New Blood
1999
Alan White
If... Dog... Rabbit
1999
Sean Cooper
The Commissioner
1998
James morton
Love and Death on Long Island
1998
Giles De'Ath
The Climb
1998
Chuck Langer
Night Train
1998
Michael Poole
Bandyta
1997
Babits
Contact
1997
S. R. Hadden
Tender Loving Care
1996
Dr. Turner
Dead Man
1995
John Scholfield
Rob Roy
1995
John Graham
Wild Bill
1995
Charley Prince
Two Nudes Bathing
1995
Marquis de Prey
Divine Rapture
1995
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
1994
The Countess
Second Best
1994
Uncle Turpin
Great Moments in Aviation
1994
Rex Goodyear
Thumbelina
1994
Mr. Mole (voice)
The World of Jim Henson
1994
The Storyteller (archive footage)
Rabbit Ears - Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
1994
Narrator (voice)
Monolith
1993
Villano
Dark at Noon
1992
Anthony / Le Marquis
Six Characters in Search of An Author
1992
The Father
King Ralph
1991
Lord Percival Graves
Red Fox
1991
Archie Carpenter
I Dreamt I Woke Up
1991
Boorman's Alter Ego
Lapse of Memory
1991
Conrad Farmer
Frankenstein Unbound
1990
Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice)
The Field
1990
Bird' O'Donnell
Windprints
1990
Charles Rutherford
Resident Alien
1990
Self - Actor
Who Bombed Birmingham?
1990
Chris Mullin
Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch
1990
Self
Paul McCartney: From Rio to Liverpool
1990
Narrator (voice)
Romeo.Juliet
1990
La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice)
Scandal
1989
Stephen Ward
Little Sweetheart
1989
Robert Burger
David Macaulay: Pyramid
1989
Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice)
Deadline
1988
Granville Jones
The Bengali Night
1988
Lucien Metz
Spaceballs
1987
John Hurt
From the Hip
1987
Douglas Benoit
Aria
1987
The Actor
White Mischief
1987
Gilbert Colville
Vincent
1987
(voice)
Iceberg
1987
Narrator (voice)
Jake Speed
1986
Syd
Thames Film
1986
After Darkness
1985
Peter Hunningford
The Black Cauldron
1985
The Horned King (voice)
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima
1985
Narrator (voice)
Live Aid
1985
Self
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984
Winston Smith
The Hit
1984
Braddock
Champions
1984
Bob Champion
Success Is the Best Revenge
1984
Dino Montecurva
Sunset People
1984
Self
The Osterman Weekend
1983
Lawrence Fassett
King Lear
1983
The Fool
The Plague Dogs
1982
Snitter (voice)
Partners
1982
Kerwin
Night Crossing
1982
Peter Strelzyk
History of the World: Part I
1981
Jesus - The Roman Empire
The Elephant Man
1980
John Merrick
Heaven's Gate
1980
Billy Irvine
Alien
1979
Kane
The Lord of the Rings
1978
Aragorn (voice)
Watership Down
1978
Hazel (voice)
Midnight Express
1978
Max
The Shout
1978
Anthony Fielding
East of Elephant Rock
1977
Nash
The Disappearance
1977
Atkinson
Three Dangerous Ladies
1977
Lt. George Simmonds
Spectre
1977
Mitri Cyon
Stream Line
1976
Chandler
The Peddler
1976
Alec Cassell
The Naked Civil Servant
1975
Quentin Crisp
The Ghoul
1975
Tom Rawlings
Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs
1974
Malcolm Scrawdyke
The Pied Piper
1972
Franz
10 Rillington Place
1971
Timothy Evans
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins
1971
Richard Forbush
Sinful Davey
1969
Davey Haggart
Before Winter Comes
1969
Lieutenant Pilkington
In Search of Gregory
1969
Daniel
The Sailor from Gibraltar
1967
John
A Man for All Seasons
1966
Richard Rich
This Is My Street
1964
Charlie
The Wild and the Willing
1962
Phil Corbett