John Hurt
Highest Rated: 100% Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special: The Day Of The Doctor (2013)
Lowest Rated: 0% Short Order (2008)
Birthday: Jan 22, 1940
Birthplace: Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Considered one of Great Britain's most consistently brilliant players, John Hurt was at his best when playing victims forced to suffer mental, physical, or spiritual anguish. A small man with a slightly sinister countenance and a tenor voice that never completed the transition between early adolescence and manhood, Hurt was generally cast in supporting or leading roles as eccentric characters in offbeat films. The son of a clergyman, Hurt was training to be a painter at St. Martin's School of the Arts when he became enamored with acting and enrolled in London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art instead. He made his theatrical and film debuts in 1962 (The Wild and the Willing). Though he frequently appeared on-stage, Hurt, unlike his many colleagues, was primarily a film and television actor. He gave one of his strongest early performances playing Richard Rich in Fred Zinnemann's A Man for All Seasons (1966). His subsequent work remained high quality through the '70s. On television, Hurt made his name in the telemovie The Naked Civil Servant and furthered his growing reputation as the twisted Caligula on the internationally acclaimed BBC miniseries I, Claudius (1976). He received his first Oscar nomination for playing a supporting role in the harrowing Midnight Express and a second nomination for his sensitive portrayal of the horribly deformed John Merrick -- but for his voice, Hurt was unrecognizable beneath pounds of latex and makeup. In 1984, Hurt was the definitive Winston Smith in Michael Radford's version of Orwell's 1984. Other memorable roles include a man who finds himself hosting a terrifying critter in Alien (1979), his parody of that role in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), an Irish idiot in The Field (1990), and in Rob Roy (1995).In 1997, Hurt played the lead role of Giles De'ath (pronounced day-ath) for the comedy drama Love and Death on Long Island. The film, which follows a widower (Hurt) who forms an unlikely obsession with a teen heartthrob who lives in Long Island and occasionally stars in low-brow films. Love and Death was praised for its unlikely, yet poignant portrait of unrequited love. The same year, Hurt took on the role of a multi-millionaire willing to fund a scientist's (Jodie Foster) efforts to communicate with alien life in Contact. Hurt took a voice role in the animated series Journey to Watership Down and its sequel, Escape to Watership Down in 1999, and again for The Tigger Story in 2000. In 2001, Hurt joined the cast of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone to play the small but vital role of wand merchant Mr. Ollivander, and narrated Lars von Trier's experimental drama Dogville. Later, Hurt played an American professor in Hellboy (2004), and won praise for his portrayal of a bounty hunter in The Proposition, a gritty Western from director John Hillcoat. Hurt continued to work in small but meaty supporting roles throughout the next several years, most notably in the drama Beyond the Gates (2005), for which he played a missionary who arrived in Rwanda just before genocide erupted, and as the tyrannical Chancellor Sutler in director James McTiegue's adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel V for Vendetta (2006). In 2010, Hurt reprised his role of Mr. Ollivander for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, and for its sequel in 2011. The actor co-starred with Charlotte Rampling in Melancholia (2011), Lars von Trier's meditation on depression, and played the Head of the British Secret Intelligence Service in the multi-Academy Award nominated spy thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy the same year. In 2013, Hurt appeared in the futuristic sci-fi movie Snowpiercer and later played the War Doctor in the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who. The following year, Hurt played the King of Thrace in Hercules. Hurt died in 2017, just days after his 77th birthday.

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

MOVIES

CREDIT
14% Damascus Cover Miki — 2018
70% The Journey Harry Patterson $0.2M 2017
No Score Yet My Name Is Lenny Leslie Salmon — 2017
53% That Good Night Actor — 2017
87% Jackie The Priest $14M 2016
No Score Yet The Twilight Hour: Visions of Ireland's Haunted Past Actor — 2016
13% ChickLit Francis Bonar — 2016
No Score Yet A.K.A Nadia Actor — 2015
80% Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure Actor $0.2M 2015
57% Hercules Lord Cotys $59.5M 2014
95% Snowpiercer Gilliam $2.8M 2014
85% Only Lovers Left Alive Marlowe — 2014
100% Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special: The Day Of The Doctor Actor $1.6M 2013
29% Charlie Countryman Narrator — 2013
36% Jayne Mansfield's Car Kingsley Bedford $14.8K 2013
100% More Than Honey Narrator $31.6K 2013
43% Benjamin Britten: Peace And Conflict Narrator — 2013
No Score Yet The Gruffalo's Child Owl — 2012
No Score Yet Shadows (Hellgate) Actor — 2012
No Score Yet Kidtoons: The Gruffalo, Pocoyo & The Wiggles Actor — 2012
83% Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Control $20.3M 2011
38% Immortals Old Man $83.5M 2011
79% Melancholia Dexter $3M 2011
51% Brighton Rock Phil Corkery $0.3M 2011
96% Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Mr. Ollivander $381.1M 2011
No Score Yet Lou Doyle — 2011
No Score Yet Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie Actor — 2011
77% Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 Mr. Ollivander $295M 2010
9% The Oxford Murders Arthur Seldom $4.1K 2010
41% 44 Inch Chest Old Man Peanut — 2010
No Score Yet The Gruffalo Owl — 2009
37% New York, I Love You Bellhop (Shekhar Kapur segment) $1.7M 2009
43% The Limits of Control Guitar $0.4M 2009
67% An Englishman in New York Quentin Crisp — 2009
37% Outlander Rothgar $60.1K 2009
50% Whaledreamers Actor — 2008
No Score Yet Lezione 21 (Lecture 21) (Lesson 21) Actor — 2008
77% Recount Warren Christopher — 2008
78% Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Prof. Oxley $317M 2008
0% Short Order Felix — 2008
No Score Yet The Dolphin's Gift Actor — 2008
No Score Yet Hellboy: Blood and Iron Actor — 2007
No Score Yet Shooting Dogs (Beyond the Gates) Christopher — 2007
No Score Yet Joel Files Actor — 2007
No Score Yet Masters of Science Fiction Samswope — 2007
58% Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Narrator $2.2M 2006
72% V for Vendetta Chancellor Adam Sutler $70.6M 2006
50% Manderlay Narrator — 2006
84% Beyond the Gates Christopher — 2005
32% Valiant Felix $19.4M 2005
37% The Skeleton Key Ben Devereaux $47.8M 2005
86% The Proposition Jellon Lamb $1.8M 2005
No Score Yet Pride Harry — 2004
81% Hellboy Prof. Trevor Bruttenholm $59.1M 2004
No Score Yet Tabloid Actor — 2004
79% Owning Mahowny Victor Foss $0.8M 2003
70% Dogville Narrator $1.5M 2003
No Score Yet D-Day In Color Narrator — 2003
94% Alien: The Director's Cut Kane Narrator — 2003
No Score Yet Crime and Punishment Porfiry — 2002
No Score Yet Bait Jack Blake — 2002
44% Miranda Christian — 2002
No Score Yet The 'Alien' Saga Narrator — 2002
81% Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Mr. Ollivander $317.6M 2001
28% Captain Corelli's Mandolin Dr. Iannis $25.3M 2001
No Score Yet Hidden Wars of Desert Storm Narrator — 2001
No Score Yet Monkey's Tale Sebastian — 2001
8% Lost Souls Father Lareaux — 2000
No Score Yet New Blood Alan White — 2000
62% The Tigger Movie Narrator — 2000
No Score Yet Winter In Watership Down Actor — 1999
No Score Yet Escape to Watership Down Woundwort — 1999
65% All the Little Animals Mr. Summers — 1999
No Score Yet A Hero's Climb Chuck Langer — 1999
No Score Yet You're Dead... Actor — 1999
No Score Yet Journey to Watership Down Actor — 1999
No Score Yet NOVA: Island of the Spirits Actor — 1999
No Score Yet Tender Loving Care Dr. Turner — 1998
No Score Yet Bandyta (Brute) Actor — 1998
86% Love and Death on Long Island Giles De'Ath — 1998
No Score Yet The Commissioner James Morton — 1998
No Score Yet If... Dog... Rabbit Actor — 1998
No Score Yet Shades of Fear Rex Goodyear — 1997
63% Contact S.R. Hadden — 1997
42% Wild Bill Charley Prince — 1995
71% Dead Man John Scholfield — 1995
73% Rob Roy Montrose — 1995
100% Second Best Uncle Turpin — 1994
19% Even Cowgirls Get the Blues The Countess — 1994
30% Thumbelina Mr. Mole — 1994
No Score Yet Betrayal (Forraderi) Narrator — 1994
52% Mr. Wonderful Actor — 1993
No Score Yet L'Oeil qui ment (Dark at Noon, or Eyes and Lies) Anthony/The Marquis — 1993
No Score Yet Rabbit Ears: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp Narrator — 1993
No Score Yet Monolith Villano — 1993
No Score Yet Lapse of Memory Conrad Farmer — 1992
No Score Yet Resident Alien Actor — 1991
20% King Ralph Lord Graves — 1991
44% Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound Dr. Joe Buchanan — 1990
No Score Yet Little Sweetheart Robert Burger — 1990
No Score Yet The Investigation: Inside a Terrorist Bombing Chris Mullin — 1990
43% The Field Bird — 1990
91% Scandal Stephen Ward — 1989
No Score Yet Bengali Night Lucien Metz — 1988
No Score Yet Night Train Michael Poole — 1988
80% White Mischief Gilbert Colvile — 1988
50% Aria The Actor — 1988
No Score Yet Deadline Actor — 1988
No Score Yet Witness in the War Zone Actor — 1987
59% Spaceballs John Hurt — 1987
22% From the Hip Douglas Benoit — 1987
No Score Yet The Hunting Of The Snark Actor — 1987
No Score Yet Jake Speed Sid — 1986
No Score Yet Success Is The Best Revenge Dino Montecurva — 1985
55% The Black Cauldron Horned King — 1985
No Score Yet After Darkness Peter Huninger — 1985
79% 1984 Winston Smith — 1984
85% The Hit Braddock — 1984
57% Terror in the Aisles Actor — 1984
No Score Yet Champions Bob Champion — 1984
60% The Plague Dogs Snitter — 1983
40% The Osterman Weekend Lawrence Fassett — 1983
No Score Yet King Lear The Fool — 1983
No Score Yet Partners Kerwin — 1982
No Score Yet Night Crossing Peter Strelzyks — 1982
No Score Yet Cry of the Penguins Actor — 1981
62% History of the World---Part I Jesus — 1981
56% Heaven's Gate Billy Irvine — 1980
91% The Elephant Man John Merrick — 1980
82% The Shout Anthony Fielding — 1979
No Score Yet It's a Steal? Actor — 1979
97% Alien Kane — 1979
No Score Yet Crime and Punishment Actor — 1979
No Score Yet Law Rules OK!? Actor — 1979
52% The Lord of the Rings Aragorn — 1978
82% Watership Down Hazel — 1978
96% Midnight Express Max — 1978
No Score Yet East of Elephant Rock Actor — 1976
No Score Yet The Naked Civil Servant Quentin Crisp — 1975
No Score Yet The Ghoul (The Thing in the Attic) Tom — 1975
No Score Yet Little Malcolm (Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs) Malcolm Scrawdyke — 1974
50% The Pied Piper Franz — 1972
58% 10 Rillington Place Timothy John Evans — 1971
No Score Yet Cry of the Penguins Forbush — 1971
No Score Yet In Search of Gregory Daniel — 1970
43% Sinful Davey Davey Haggart — 1969
No Score Yet Before Winter Comes Lt. Francis Pilkington — 1969
82% A Man for All Seasons Rich — 1966
No Score Yet Krapp's Last Tape Actor —

TV

CREDIT
88% The Last Panthers
2016
Tom
  • 2016
No Score Yet Human Planet
2014
Narrator
  • 2014
64% Labyrinth
2012
Audric
  • 2014
94% Doctor Who
2006
War Doctor The Doctor
  • 2013
No Score Yet Great Performances
2000
The Chorus
  • 2013
82% Merlin
2009-2012
Voice Kilgharrah the Dragon The Dragon
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
97% The Hollow Crown
2012-2016
  • 2012
No Score Yet NOVA
1974
Narrator
  • 2000
  • 1999
No Score Yet Jim Henson's Storyteller
1988
Appearing Narrator the Storyteller
  • 1988
100% I, Claudius
1976
Caligula
  • 1978
  • 1977
No Score Yet The Jim Henson Hour
1989
Narrator

QUOTES FROM John Hurt CHARACTERS