John Hurt

Photo of John Hurt

Biography

One of Britain's most esteemed and prolific actors, John Hurt fashioned an international career as a consummate screen chameleon, living his parts to the fullest without revealing the man behind the mask. He emerged from the London drama stage to film stardom in the late 1970s with a pair of powerhouse performances in "Midnight Express" (1978) and "Alien" (1979) - roles that established Hurt's strength for playing mental and physical …
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Job Title

Actor, Music

Born

John Vincent Hurt on January 22, 1940 in Derbyshire, England, GB

Career Milestones

2011

Joined ensemble cast of thriller "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

2011

Appeared as an old man in "Immortals"

2011

Cast in Lars Von Trier's apocalyptic drama "Melancholia"

2010

Reprised role of Mr. Ollivander for the seventh and final installment of the series directed by David Yates, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"; film released in two parts, "Part 1" in November 2010 and "Part 2" in July 2011

2008

Appeared in Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" as Harold Oxley

2006

Cast as the villainous Bishop Lilliman in the Wachowski brothers' "V for Vendetta"

2005

Starred opposite Kate Hudson in the supernatural thriller "Skeleton Key"

2004

Reprised role of Mr. Ollivander for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"

2004

Cast as Professor Bruttenholm in the feature adaption of the popular comic book series "Hellboy"

2003

Re-teamed with director Richard Kwietniowski for "Owning Mahowny"

2001

Played Mr. Ollivander, the wand-maker in the first Harry Potter film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone"

2000

Acted in a film version of "Krapp's Last Tape"

2000

Played a priest in Janusz Kiminski's feature directorial debut "Lost Souls"

1998

Starred opposite Christian Bale in Jeremy Thomas' directorial debut "All the Little Animals"

1997

Narrated The Discovery Channel's "True Story of the Elephant Man"

1997

Earned acclaim for his performance in Richard Kwietniowski's feature directorial debut, "Love and Death on Long Island"

1995

Starred with Helen Mirren in an award-winning West End production of Turgenev's "A Month in the Country"

1995

Cast in the John Boorman directed "Two Nudes Bathing" segment of Showtime's "Picture Windows"

1995

Re-teamed with Caton-Jones for "Rob Roy"

1990

Appeared as himself in the documentary feature "Resident Alien: Quentin Crisp in New York"

1989

Portrayed the Storyteller on NBC variety anthology summer series "The Jim Henson Hour"

1989

Offered an excellent turn as Dr. Stephen Ward, a sexual provocateur in Michael Caton-Jones' directorial debut "Scandal"

1987

Played the title role of the narrator on the NBC children's fantasy series "The Storyteller"

1987

Provided the voice of the artist for the documentary "Vincent - The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh"

1987

Re-teamed with director Mel Brooks for the disappointing "Star Wars" spoof "Spaceballs"

1984

Acted the part of the brooding assassin in Stephen Frears' sinister "The Hit"

1984

Played the stubbornly nonconformist Winston Smith in Michael Radford's adaptation of the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four"

1983

Appeared in Sam Peckinpah's critically panned but hugely successful final film "The Osterman Weekend"

1982

Starred as the Fool opposite Laurence Olivier's King in BBC production of "King Lear"

1981

Played Jesus in Mel Brooks' "History of the World, Part I"

1980

Acted in Michael Cimino's colossal bomb "Heaven's Gate" as the lost, embittered alcoholic Billy Irvine

1980

Portrayed the title character in David Lynch's adaption of the Joseph Merrick biography "The Elephant Man"; garnered a Best Actor Academy Award nomination

1979

Essayed the role of Kane, the memorable first victim of the title creature in Ridley Scott's "Alien"

1978

Earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his role as a drugged-out hippie in Alan Parker's "Midnight Express"

1978

First U.S. feature, voiced Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Lord of the Rings"

1977

First U.S. TV-movie, "Spectre" (NBC)

1976

Offered a brilliant turn as Roman emperor Caligula in the BBC adaptation of "I, Claudius"

1976

First non-British film, the Italian-made "La Linea del Fiume/Stream Line"

1975

Shot to fame as Quentin Crisp in the TV play, "The Naked Civil Servant"

1974

Portrayed Tristran Tzara in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Tom Stoppard's "Travesties"

1973

Essayed the role of Ben in Pinter's London revival of "The Dumb Waiter"

1972

Performed in Harold Pinter's London stage revival of "The Caretaker"

1970

Portrayed the inarticulate Timothy Evans in "10 Rillington Place"

1969

Played the title role of a 19th-century Scottish highwayman in John Huston's uninspired "Sinful Davey"

1966

Portrayed Richard Rich in the film version of "A Man for All Seasons"

1963

Won the Variety Club Award as Most Promising Newcomer for his stage performance in "The Dwarfs"; first collaboration with playwright Harold Pinter

1962

Film acting debut, "The Wild and the Willing"; directed and produced by Ralph Thomas

1962

Professional stage debut in the London production, "Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger"

1961

Made TV debut in "Mourtzanos"

1953

Stage debut in a school production of "The Bluebird"

Worked as a stage hand with Lincoln Repertory

Awards

2009

London Film Festival for The BFI Fellowship

1990

BAFTA Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in The Field

1980

BAFTA Award for Actor in The Elephant Man

1980

Academy Award for Actor In a Leading Role in The Elephant Man

1980

Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama in The Elephant Man

1979

BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor in Alien

1978

Academy Award for Actor In a Supporting Role in Midnight Express

1978

Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in Midnight Express

1978

BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor in Midnight Express

1971

BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor in 10 Rillington Place