Sir John Hurt has starred in a number of critically acclaimed films and TV productions across his career, which has spanned six decades and seen him nominated for – or win – several top industry awards.
Here are some of his more notable roles:
The Elephant Man (1980)
Sir John (AP Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)
Sir John played the role of severely deformed Englishman John Merrick in the historical drama film set in the late 19th century. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick – otherwise known as the Elephant Man – it tells how he was discovered in a freak show by surgeon Frederick Treves and the issues he faced because of his physical abnormalities.
Sir John won the best actor Bafta for his effort and he was nominated for the best actor Academy Award, but lost out to Raging Bull’s Robert De Niro.
Alien (1979)
Sir John in 2013 (Alessandra Tarantino/AP/Press Association Images)
Sir John’s character in Alien will go down in history as one of the most unfortunate ever to appear in a sci-fi movie. He played Kane, the executive officer of the spacecraft Nostromo, who was infected by a parasite while returning to Earth after a mission. Kane was then killed in spectacular style by an alien bursting violently out of his chest under the horrified gaze of his fellow crew members. The role saw him nominated for a best supporting actor Bafta.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
Actor Sir John Hurt poses with his award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Cinema’. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan)
Sir John took on the leading role of Winston Smith in the Michael Radford-directed film based on George Orwell’s dystopian novel of the same name. Critics praised Sir John for his portrayal of the office worker living in the totalitarian superstate Oceania in the adaptation, with famed reviewer Roger Ebert describing him as “the perfect Winston Smith”.
Midnight Express
Sir John and his wife Ann Rees Meyers at the National Gallery for a in 2006. (Chris Clarke/PA Archive/PA Images).
Sir John was nominated for another Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role in Alan Parker’s prison drama Midnight Express. He played Max, an English heroin addict in an inhospitable Turkish prison. He meets fellow prisoner, US college student Billy Hayes who was locked-up after attempting to smuggle hashish out of the country. They, along with other inmates, attempt to break out, or “catch the midnight express”.
Although he missed out on the Academy Award to Christopher Walken for The Deer Hunter, Sir John did win the Golden Globe and Bafta awards for best supporting actor.
The Naked Civil Servant (1975)
Singer Mick Jagger (R) talks to Sir John at the Evening Standard drama awards at the Savoy Central London in 2000 (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA Archive/PA Images)
Sir John starred in the leading role in the TV movie, based on gay English writer and campaigner Quentin Crisp’s 1968 autobiography of the same name. The film followed the flamboyant gay icon’s coming of age, telling his story from youth to middle age, and saw Sir John win a Bafta TV Award for best actor.
He reprised his role as Crisp in the 2009 sequel An Englishman In New York, which followed Crisp’s years in the US city.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2 (2001 – 2011)
Diagon Alley (PA/Harry Potter)
In recent years, Sir John entertained a new and younger audience as wand shop owner Mr Ollivander in three films in the Harry Potter franchise. The popular character – a wand-maker with a brilliant mind and proprietor of his own shop in Diagon Alley – was first seen advising a young Potter as he selects his wand in 2001′s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
Doctor Who – The Day of the Doctor (2013)
The Doctors Matt Smith (left), David Tennant (centre) and Sir John (Adrian Rogers/BBC/PA)
He starred as the War Doctor in BBC One’s Doctor Who 50th anniversary episode The Day of the Doctor. The role saw him play this unknown incarnation of the Time Lord opposite Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and David Tennant. His character faces a moral dilemma in having to save the universe by ending the Time War.
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