John Hurt

John Hurt began his acting career after studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1962 with an Acting Diploma. His first film role was as Phil Corbett in The Wild and the Willing (1962). He appeared in This Is My Street (1963) and played prison escapee Freddy Tisdale in an episode of the television series Gideon's Way, The Tin God (1964).

Hurt's first major film role was Richard Rich in A Man for All Seasons (1966). He subsequently appeared in The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967), Sinful Davey (1969), Before Winter Comes (1969) and In Search of Gregory (1969). He played Timothy Evans in 10 Rillington Place (1971), earning a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His other early credits included Little Malcolm (1974), in which he played Scrawdyke, and The Naked Civil Servant (1975), in which he portrayed Quentin Crisp and won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He played Anthony John Grey in The Sweeney episode Tomorrow Man (1976).

Hurt portrayed Roman emperor Caligula in the BBC drama serial I, Claudius (1976). He appeared in Midnight Express (1978), earning a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1978, he also voiced Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's animated film The Lord of the Rings and Hazel in Watership Down. He later voiced General Woundwort in the animated television adaptation of Watership Down. He played Kane in Alien (1979) and Raskolnikov in the BBC television adaptation of Crime and Punishment (1979).

In 1980, Hurt portrayed Joseph Merrick in The Elephant Man, earning the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. He also appeared in Heaven's Gate (1980). His 1981 credits included Jesus Christ in History of the World, Part I and a role in Night Crossing. He appeared in The Osterman Weekend (1983) and played the Fool opposite Laurence Olivier's King in King Lear (1983). In 1984, he portrayed Bob Champion in Champions, Mitchell Braddock in The Hit and Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, earning the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor for his performances in the three films. He also voiced Snitter in The Plague Dogs (1982) and played the Horned King in Disney's The Black Cauldron (1985).

Hurt provided the voiceover for the AIDS public information film AIDS: Iceberg/Tombstone (1986), appeared in From the Hip (1987), and played the title character and on-screen narrator in Jim Henson's television series The StoryTeller (1988). He had a supporting role as "Bird" O'Donnell in The Field (1990), earning another BAFTA nomination. He played Lord Percival Graves in King Ralph (1991), James Graham, 1st Duke of Montrose, in Rob Roy (1995), and appeared in Dead Man (1995) and Wild Bill (1995).

In 1997, Hurt starred in Love and Death on Long Island, earning a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film. He also played S. R. Hadden in Contact (1997). His other work during this period included narration for Art of Noise's concept album The Seduction of Claude Debussy and narration for the four-part television series The Universe (1999).

Hurt played Mr. Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001). He returned to the Harry Potter franchise for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), although his scenes were cut from the released film, and subsequently appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). He played Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta (2006) and Harold Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). He also voiced the Great Dragon Kilgharrah in the BBC television series Merlin (2008) and narrated the BBC documentary Planet Dinosaur (2011).

In 2009, Hurt reprised his role as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman in New York. He also played Big Brother in the Paper Zoo Theatre Company's stage adaptation of Nineteen Eighty-Four, which premiered in 2009 and toured in 2010. In 2013, he appeared in Doctor Who as an incarnation of the Doctor later identified as the War Doctor. He reprised the role in audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions from 2015 to 2017, appearing in 12 episodes across four box sets. He also played the title character in an audio drama adaptation of The Invisible Man and received a BBC Audio Drama Award nomination for the performance.

Hurt was cast as Don Quixote opposite Adam Driver in Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but was replaced by Jonathan Pryce. He was also due to appear alongside Ben Kingsley in Broken Dream, directed by Neil Jordan. In 2015, he voiced Sailor John, the main antagonist, in the Thomas & Friends film Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure. He also appeared in That Good Night, which was completed before his death, playing a terminally ill writer. Hurt was initially cast as Neville Chamberlain in Darkest Hour but was replaced by Ronald Pickup before production.

Hurt's career included film, television, stage and audio work spanning more than five decades. His screen and voice credits included The Wild and the Willing (1962), This Is My Street (1963), Gideon's Way (1964), A Man for All Seasons (1966), The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967), Sinful Davey (1969), Before Winter Comes (1969), In Search of Gregory (1969), 10 Rillington Place (1971), Little Malcolm (1974), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), The Sweeney (1976), I, Claudius (1976), Midnight Express (1978), The Lord of the Rings (1978), Watership Down (1978), Alien (1979), Crime and Punishment (1979), The Elephant Man (1980), Heaven's Gate (1980), History of the World, Part I (1981), Night Crossing (1981), The Plague Dogs (1982), The Osterman Weekend (1983), King Lear (1983), Champions (1984), The Hit (1984), Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), The Black Cauldron (1985), AIDS: Iceberg/Tombstone (1986), From the Hip (1987), The StoryTeller (1988), The Field (1990), King Ralph (1991), Rob Roy (1995), Dead Man (1995), Wild Bill (1995), Love and Death on Long Island (1997), Contact (1997), The Universe (1999), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), V for Vendetta (2006), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Merlin (2008), An Englishman in New York (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Planet Dinosaur (2011), Doctor Who (2013), Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure (2015), and his Big Finish Productions audio work from 2015 to 2017.

He died at his home in Cromer, Norfolk, on 25 January 2017, at age 77.