John Hurt

Sir John Vincent Hurt CBE (January 22, 1940 – January 25, 2017) was a British actor whose career spanned more than 50 years. He came to prominence for his role as Richard Rich in Fred Zinnemann’s adaptation of A Man for All Seasons (1966) and gained BAFTA Award nominations for his portrayals of Timothy Evans in Richard Fleischer’s 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 Alan Parker’s 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 Ridley Scott‘s science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), yielded a scene where an alien creature burst out of his chest. It has been named by several publications as one of the most memorable moments in cinema history. He would spoof the scene from Alien in Mel Brooks‘s 1987 sci-fi spoof, Spaceballs.

Hurt earned his third competitive BAFTA, along with his second Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, as John 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), with Terence Stamp, Laura del Sol, and Tim Roth; Winston Smith in Michael Radford‘s adaptation of 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 Jim Sheridan‘s The Field (1990) and played the primary villain, James Graham, in the epic adventure Rob Roy (1995). Other notable films include Second Best (1994), with William Hurt and Alan Cumming.

His later films include the Harry Potter film series (2001–11), Miranda (2002), with Christina Ricci, Kyle MacLachlan, John Simm, Tamsin Greig and Julian Rhind-Tutt; the Guillermo del Toro‘s Hellboy films (2004 and 2008), with Ron Perlman; supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key (2005), western The Proposition (2005), political thriller V for Vendetta (2005), with Natalie Portman; Steven Spielberg‘s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), with Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciarán Hinds, David Dencik and Kathy Burke; Jayne Mansfield’s Car (2012), with Robert Duvall, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Frances O’Connor, Ron White, and Robert Patrick; and Bong Joon-ho‘s Snowpiercer (2013), with Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Go Ah-sung, and Ed Harris. 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 BBC TV series Doctor Who 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), Ralph Bakshi‘s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Plague Dogs (1982), The Black Cauldron (1985) and Dogville (2003), 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.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Film

The Wild and the Willing (1962) – directed by Ralph Thomas
The Contact (1963) – directed by Philip Wrestler – short
This Is My Street (1964) – directed by Sidney Hayers
A Man for All Seasons (1966) – directed by Fred Zinnermann
The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967) – directed by Tony Richardson
Sinful Davey (1969) – directed by John Huston
Before Winter Comes (1969) – directed by J. Lee Thompson
In Search of Gregory (1969) – directed by Peter Wood
10 Rillington Place (1971) – directed by Richard Fleischer
Mr. Forbush and the Penguins (1971) – directed by Arne Sucksdorff, Alfred Viola, & Roy Boulting
The Pied Piper (1972) – directed by Jacques Demy
Little Malcolm (1974) – directed by Stuart Cooper

The Ghoul (1975) – directed by Freddie Francis
La Linea del fiume (1975) – directed by Aldo Scavarda
The Disappearance (1977) – directed by Stuart Cooper
Three Dangerous Ladies (1977) – directed by Alvin Rakoff, Don Thompson, & Robert Fuest – anthology
Paperback (1977) – directed by David Bailey
East of Elephant Rock – directed by Don Boyd
Midnight Express (1978) – directed by Alan Parker
The Shout (1978) – directed by Jerzy Skolimowski,
Watership Down (1978) – directed by Martin Rosen
The Lord of the Rings (1978) – directed by Ralph Bakshi
Alien (1979)** – directed by Ridley Scott
The Elephant Man (1980) – directed by David Lynch
Heaven’s Gate (1980) – directed by Michael Cimino
History of the World, Part I (1981) – directed by Mel Brooks
Night Crossing (1981) – directed by Delbert Mann
Partners (1982) – directed by James Burrows
The Plague Dogs (1982) – directed by Martin Rosen
The Osterman Weekend (1983) – directed by Sam Peckinpah
Champions (1984) – directed by John Irvin
Success Is the Best Revenge (1984) – directed by Jerzy Skolimowski
The Hit (1984) – directed by Stephen Frears
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) – directed by Michael Radford
After Darkness (1985) – directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard & Sergio Guerraz
The Black Cauldron (1985) – directed by Ted Berman & Richard Rich
Jake Speed (1986) – directed by Andrew Lane
The Hunting of the Snark (1987) – directed by Mike Batt
Rocinante (1987) – directed by Ann Guedes & Eduardo Guedes
White Mischief (1987) – directed by Michael Radford
From the Hip (1987) – directed by Bob Clark
Aria (1987) – directed by Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, Bill Bryden, Jean-Luc Godard, Derek Jarman, Franc Roddam, Nicolas Roeg, Ken Russell, Charles Sturridge, & Julien Temple – anthology
Spaceballs (1987)** – directed by Mel Brooks – cameo
Vincent (1987) – directed by Paul Cox
The Bengali Night (1988) – directed by Nicolas Klotz
Scandal (1989) – directed by
Michael Caton-Jones
Little Sweetheart (1989) – directed by Anthony Simmons
Windprints (1990) – directed by David Wicht
Romeo-Juliet (1990) – directed by Armondo Linus Acosta
The Field (1990) – directed by Jim Sheridan
Frankenstein Unbound (1990) – directed by Roger Corman
King Ralph (1991) – directed by David S. Ward
I Dreamt I Wake Up (1991) – directed by John Boorman – short
Lapse of Memory (1992) – directed by Patrick Dewolf
Dark at Noon (1993) – directed by Raúl Ruiz – aka L’Œil qui ment – Portugal/France
Kölcsönkapott idő (1993) – directed by István Poór
Monolith (1993) – directed by John Eyres
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) – directed by Gus Van Sant
Rabbit Ears: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (1994) – directed by C.W. Rogers – straight to video
Thumbelina (1994) – directed by Don Bluth & Gary Goldman
Great Moments in Aviation (1994) – directed by Beeban Kidron
Second Best (1994) – directed by Chris Menges
Rob Roy (1995) – directed by Michael Caton-Jones
Dead Man (1995) – directed by Jim Jarmusch
Wild Bill (1995) – directed by Walter Hill
Two Nudes Bathing (1995) – directed by John Boorman – short
Love and Death on Long Island (1997) – directed by Richard Kwietniowski
Contact (1997) – directed by Robert Zemeckis
The Climb (1997) – directed by Bob Swaim
Badyta (1997) – directed by Maciej Dejczer
Tender Loving Care (1997) – directed by David Wheeler
The Commissioner (1998) – directed by George Sluizer
Night Train (1998) – directed by John Lynch
All the Little Animals (1998) – directed by Jeremy Thomas
A Monkey’s Tale (1999) – directed by Jean-François Laguionie
If… Dog… Rabbit… (1999) – directed by Matthew Modine
You’re Dead (1999) – directed by Andy Hurst
The Tigger Movie (2000) – directed by Jun Falkenstein
New Blood (2000) – directed by Michael Hurst
Lost Souls (2000) – directed by Janusz Kamiński
Tabloid (2001) – directed by David Blair
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) – directed by John Madden
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)* – directed by Chris Columbus
Miranda (2002) – directed by Marc Munden
Crime and Punishment (2002) – directed by Menahem Golan
Owning Mahoney (2003) – directed by Richard Kwietniowski
Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill (2003) – directed by Anthony Byrne – short
Dogville (2003) – directed by Lars von Trier
Hellboy (2004)* – directed by Guillermo del Toro
Pride (2004) – directed by John Downer – TV movie
Short Order (2005) – directed by Anthony Byrne
Valiant (2005) – directed by Gary Chapman
Manderlay (2005) – directed by Lars von Trier
The Skeleton Key (2005) – directed by Iain Softley
Shooting Dogs (2005) – directed by Michael Caton-Jones – aka Beyond the Gates
The Proposition (2005) – directed by John Hillcoat
V for Vendetta (2005) – directed by James McTeigue
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) – directed by Tom Tykwer
Boxes (2007) – directed by Jane Birkin – aka Les Boites – France
Hellboy: Blood and Iron (2007) – directed by Victor Cook – straight to video
The Oxford Murders (2008) – directed by Álex de la Iglesia
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)* – directed by Steven Spielberg
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)* – directed by Guillermo del Toro
Outlander (2008) – directed by Howard McCain
Lecture 21 (2008) – directed by Alessandro Baricco
New York, I Love You (2008) – directed by Fatih Akin, Yvan Attal, Randall Balsmeyer, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Jiang Wen, Shekhar Kapur, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Natalie Portman, & Brett Ratner – anthology
An Englishman (2009) – directed by Richard Laxton
The Limits of Control (2009) – directed by Jim Jarmusch
44 Inch Chest (2009) – directed by Malcolm Venville
Lou (2010) – directed by Belinda Chayko
A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures (2010) – directed by Ben Stassen
Brighton Rock (2010) – directed by Rowan Joffé
Ultramarines: The Movie (2010) – directed by Martyn Pick
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)* – directed by David Yates
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)* – directed by David Yates
Regret Not Speaking (2011) – directed by Richard Kwietniowski
Melancholia (2011) – directed by Lars von Trier
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) – directed by Tomas Alfredson
Immortals (2011) – directed by Tarsem Singh
Jayne Mansfield’s Car (2012) – directed by Billy Bob Thornton
In Love with Alma Coogan (2012) – directed by Tony Britten
Sightseers (2012) – directed by Ben Wheatley – uncredited voice
Charlie Countryman (2013) – directed by Fredrik Bond – scenes deleted
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) – directed by Jim Jarmusch
Swan Lake 3D – Live from the Mariinsky Theatre (2013) – directed by Ross MacGibbon
Snowpiercer (2013) – directed by Bong Joon-ho
More Than Money (2013) – directed by Markus Imhoof – narrator – documentary
Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict (2013)
Hercules (2014) – directed by Tony Britten – narrator – documentary
A.K.A. Nadia (2015) – directed by Tova Ascher
The Absinthe Drinker (2015) – directed by John Jopson
Break (2015) – directed by Nicholas Moss – short
Sodor’s Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015) – directed by David Stoten
ChickLit (2016) – directed by Tony Britten
The Journey (2016) – directed by Nick Hamm
Jackie (2016) – directed by Pablo Larraín
Back to Utopia (2016) – directed by Fabio Wuytack – posthumous international release
My Name is Lenny (2017) – directed by Ron Scalpello – posthumously released
The Good Night (2017) – directed by Eric Styles – posthumously released
Damascus Cover (2018) – directed by Daniel Zelik Berk – posthumously released

The Playboy of the Western World (1974) – directed by Alan Gibson – TV movie
The Naked Civil Servant (1975) – directed by Jack Gold – TV movie
I, Claudius (1976) – directed by Herbert Wise – miniseries
Spectre (1977) – TV movie
Crime and Punishment (1979) – 3 episodes
King Lear (1983) – TV movie
The Storyteller (1987-1988) – 9 episodes
Six Characters in Search of an Author (1992) – TV movie
An Englishman in New York (2009) – TV movie
Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010) – TV movie
Human Planet (2010) – documentary, 8 episodes
Planet Dinosaur (2011) – documentary, 6 episodes
The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012) – TV movie
Doctor Who (2013) – 3 episodes
The Last Panthers (2015) – 6 episodes
The Pity of War: The Loves and Lives of the War Poets (2016) – TV movie

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