An actor who loved his work, as evidenced by the rich filmography. Known for small and large screens, as well as stage boards. On January 22, 1940, John Hurt was born.
He was involved in various productions – from high-profile ones to small, independent works. He played leading roles as well as those that were easy to overlook. He has received two Oscar nominations, a Golden Globe for portraying Max on the Midnight Express, and four BAFTA Awards (one of them for Outstanding British Cinema Participation). In 2004, he became a commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 2015 he was awarded the title of knighthood.
He was born in Chesterfield as the youngest of three siblings. He attended art and acting schools. He began his stage career in 1962 with the play Infanticide at Fred Ginger’s house . In the same year, he appeared in the movie The Wild and the Willing . In the following years, he played both in the theater (including In No Defense , Macbeth , Romeo and Juliet – he played the title role here), and in cinema, gaining critical acclaim as early as 1966, thanks to the film Here is the Traitor’s Head .
It is difficult to cite John Hurt’s filmography, which numbers well over a hundred items, but it is worth emphasizing at least some of his roles: the voice of Aragorn in the animated Lord of the Rings (1978), Kane in Alien – the eighth passenger of Nostromo (1979). , the eponymous Man of the Elephant (1980), the Horned King in the animated film Taran and the Magic Cauldron (1985), Kane in Spaceballs (1987), Mr.Ollivander in the Harry Potter series, Professor Bruttenholm in the films about Hellboy, the voice of the Great Dragon in The Adventures of Merlin and Doctor of War in Doctor Who . His last film was Damascus Coverfrom 2017, which premiered after the actor’s death. John Hurt died on January 25, 2017, three days after his 77th birthday.
Taking advantage of a special occasion to commemorate such a versatile actor, I encourage you to watch any production today in which Sir John Vincent Hurt appeared.