John Hurt
John Hurt
Elephant Man, Alien, Midnight Express, Harry Potter
John Hurt has a CV that most actors would give their back teeth for, including classic films such as Alien, Midnight Express and The Elephant Man.
Born in Chesterfield, UK on 22nd January 1940, John describes his childhood as 'idyllic', growing up in Shirebrook where his father was the parish vicar. The family later moved to Woodville before leaving Derbyshire when John was 12 years old.
Despite being advised by his headmaster not to pursue an acting career, John gave up a course in painting to attend the London Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
In 1962, he made both his professional stage debut in Infanticide In The House of Fred Ginger and his feature film debut in The Young and the Willing. And it was while appearing in a London production of Little Malcolm in 1965 that John came to the attention of director Fred Zinnemann. The young actor was given a small role in the film version of A Man For All Seasons and when the film clinched six Oscars, John was thrust into the spotlight.
Over the next ten years came a mixture of TV and film roles, including The Pied Piper and 10 Rillington Place. Then in 1975 came the role that would take John's acting career up a level - playing Quintin Crisp in the TV series, The Naked Civil Servant. His acclaimed performance in the lead role brought about a period of fine performances over the next few years.
These included Caligula in the BBC's I, Claudius, Max the Englishman in Midnight Express, Kane in Alien (including the famous scene where an alien burst from his stomach), and the lead role in The Elephant Man. His role as the disfigured John Merrick required John to spend seven hours in make-up and critics were amazed at how he managed to produce such an expressive performance despite being beneath layers of prosthetic skin.
The quality roles continued through the eighties, with John specialising in playing the outsider - most effectively in the film adaptation of 1984 and Scandal, the story of disgraced government minister John Profumo.
The nineties saw John mix lead roles in independent and low-profile films and plays, whilst taking handpicked roles in more well-known movies such as Rob Roy, Contact and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.
He made acclaimed appearances in Captain Correlli's Mandolin and as Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, a role John described as 'a lot of fun'. He will reprise this role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2.
His other film credits include Shooting Dogs, The Proposition, V for Vendetta, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Hellboy 1 & 2.
In January 2002, John was given an honourary degree by the University of Derby - something he described as giving him 'immense pleasure.' In January 2006 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of Hull.
Since 2006, John Hurt is the patron of Project Harar, a UK-based charity working in Ethiopia for children with facial disfigurements.
John Hurt at the Internet Movie Database