January
2003 >>
John Hurt |
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| John
Hurt |
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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.
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Born in
Chesterfield 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.
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SELECTED
FILMOGRAPHY
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1971
10 Rillington Place
1972 The Pied Piper
1978 Watership Down
1978 Midnight Express
1979 Alien
1980 The Elephant Man
1980 Heaven's Gate
1983 The Osterman Weekend
1984 1984
1987 Spaceballs
1989 Scandal
1991 King Ralph
1993 Even Cowgirls Get The Blues
1995 Rob Roy
2000 The Tigger Movie
2001 Captain Corelli's Mandolin
2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone |
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.
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| John
Hurt as Caligula |
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.
| "I've
done some stinkers in the cinema. You can't regret it; there
are always reasons for doing something, even if it's just the
location." |
| John
Hurt |
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.
And the last few years have seen an ageing John make 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'.
In January 2002, John was given an honourary degree by the University
of Derby - something he described as giving him 'immense pleasure.'
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| Contact
Us |
BBC Derby
PO Box 104.5
Derby
DE1 3HL
(+44) 01332 361111
derby@bbc.co.uk |
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