John Hurt
British actor (1940-2017) · United Kingdom · Actors · Died at 77
John Hurt is read about 3,867 times a day, in 63 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 21 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 396 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?That voice - smoke and gravel and something ancient - carried more weight than most actors manage in a lifetime. John Hurt could die onscreen like no one else, and he did it often enough that it became a dark joke, but the truth was simpler: he made you believe every second.
A life in dates
JackieFilm, The Priest2014Knight BachelorAward2013
Only Lovers Left AliveFilm, Christopher Marlowe2012BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema AwardAward
Playhouse PresentsSeries, 2012The Ministry (voice)2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2Film, Ollivander2009
The GruffaloFilm, Owl (voice)2008
MerlinSeries, Kilgharrah (voice)2006
Perfume: The Story of a MurdererFilm, Narrator (voice)2005
The PropositionFilm, Jellon Lamb2004Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward
Who Do You Think You Are?Series, 20042003British Independent Film Award - The Richard Harris AwardAward
DogvilleFilm, 2003Narrator (voice)2000
The Tigger MovieFilm, Narrator (voice)1995
Dead ManFilm, John Scholfield1994
ThumbelinaFilm, Mr. Mole (voice)1991
PerformanceSeries, The Father1988
The StorytellerSeries, The Storyteller1985
Screen TwoSeries, Rex Goodyear
The Black CauldronFilm, 1985The Horned King (voice)1981BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading RoleAward1980
Heaven's GateFilm, Billy Irvine1979BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleAwardGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion PictureAward
AlienFilm, 1979Kane1976British Academy Television Award for Best ActorAward
I, ClaudiusSeries, 1976Caligula1971Film '72Series1969
ITV Saturday Night TheatreSeries, Bob1966
A Man for All SeasonsFilm, Richard Rich1944
Golden Globe AwardsSeries1940Born22 January 1940Also in Deutsch
Photos 8
Hurt portrayed Sir Richard Rich in A Man for All Seasons (1966)
Hurt portrayed Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man (1980)
Cynthia Nixon, Hurt and Swoosie Kurtz in 2009
Hurt at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival
Hurt in 2014
Hurt in 2015
Hurt's marmalade-themed Paddington Bear statue in London, auctioned to raise funds for the NSPCCFilmography 40
JAJackie
HEHercules
SNSnowpiercerOAOnly Lovers Left AliveHPHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
IMImmortals
TSTinker Tailor Soldier Spy
MEMelancholia
HPHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
AAA Turtle's Tale: Sammy's AdventuresTGThe Gruffalo
ISIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
HAHellboy II: The Golden Army
OUOutlander
NYNew York, I Love You
TMThe Oxford Murders
VVV for VendettaPMPerfume: The Story of a Murderer
TKThe Skeleton Key
VAValiantTPThe Proposition
HEHellboyDODogville
HSHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
CMCaptain Corelli's MandolinTMThe Tigger Movie
COContactDMDead Man
RRRob RoyTHThumbelina
SPSpaceballsTCThe Black Cauldron
NFNineteen Eighty-Four
TMThe Elephant ManHGHeaven's GateALAlien
TRThe Lord of the Rings
MEMidnight Express
WDWatership DownASA Man for All Seasons279 credits on file
Television 24
TCThe Hollow CrownPPPlayhouse Presents
HPHuman PlanetMEMerlin
DWDoctor WhoWAWho Do You Think You Are?
PAParkinson
GMGMTVPEPerformance
THThe Jim Henson HourTSThe Storyteller
SCScreenPlaySTScreen Two
NWNatural WorldICI, Claudius
SLSaturday Night Live
TSThe Sweeney
NONOVA
GPGreat Performances
PTPlay for TodayITITV Saturday Night Theatre
IPITV PlayhouseGAGolden Globe AwardsAwards
In their orbit
About this person
Born 22 January 1940, Hurt trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and broke through as Richard Rich in A Man for All Seasons (1966). He won a BAFTA for playing Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant (1975), then earned Academy Award nominations for Midnight Express (1978) and The Elephant Man (1980). The 1979 chestburster scene in Alien became cinema legend. Across five decades he moved between prestige (Nineteen Eighty-Four, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Jackie) and franchise work (Harry Potter's Ollivander, the War Doctor in Doctor Who, Hellboy), lending his unmistakable rasp to Watership Down and narrating BBC's Human Planet. Knighted in 2015, he worked until the end - he died 25 January 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.
In common with John
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