British actor and icon John Hurt sadly passed away yesterday. The news comes from The Hollywood Reporter and while they do not list an exact cause of death, Hurt had been battling pancreatic cancer since June 2015. He was 77.
Hurt has had a prolific career in film, both in the U.K. and Hollywood. Throughout his career Hurt was nominated for two Academy Awards – one as Best Supporting Actor for Midnight Express (for which he won a Golden Globe) and again as Best Actor for The Elephant Man. He is also an actor who – much like Sean Bean – is known for being killed off in many of his movies.
His most famous onscreen death is perhaps the chest-bursting sequence in Ridley Scott’s seminal Alien with Sigourney Weaver. One popular fact about that scene is that none of the other actors knew it was coming and truly thought Hurt was choking in order for Scott to capture genuine horror from Weaver and the cast when the alien burst out of Hurt’s chest. Hurt would later parody this scene in Mel Brooks’ sci-fi comedy Spaceballs.
Some of his other famous roles include Nineteen Eighty-Four, Doctor Who, V for Vendetta and a small role in the Harry Potter film series. Hurt is also known for his recognizable voice, using it in such roles as Hazel in Watership Down and Aragorn in the animated Lord of the Rings. A couple of his more recent film appearances was in The Journey (which we reviewed at TIFF last year) and Jackie. He was also expected to play British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour, and will be seen in My Name is Lenny and That Good Night.
Originally published January 28, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
