RIP Sir John Hurt

[Pyan]

Sir John Hurt has died after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years ago. He was 77.

I can still remember the shock of his character Kane's death in 'Alien' when I first saw it, shared with just about everyone in the cinema that evening - it's now one of the most iconic moments in SF film history. He also appeared in Doctor Who as the War Doctor in 2013 and as Ollivander the wand-maker in the Harry Potter films.

A great actor and a memorable man - RIP.

 

[Serendipity]

Saddened by this news. May he rest in peace.

 

[The Bluestocking]

Oh no

RIP, Sir John!

 

[Rodders]

Just read about this. What an incredible actor.

RIP, John. You will be missed.

 

[farntfar]

If asked to choose 2 roles which show the power of his acting, I would go for Caligula and Quentin Crisp. But he was magnificent in everything he did.

RIP

 

[mosaix]

Very sad.

 

[Toby Frost]

Kane's exploding over the crew of the Nostromo, and Winston Smith trying to light a cigarette, are two of my strongest early memories of watching films. RIP.

 

[Vince W]

A remarkable actor to be sure. RIP.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

amazing actor. RIP.

 

[BAYLOR]

He was a truly great actor. RIP.

 

[The Ace]

I'm probably betraying my age by remembering him as Aragorn in Bakshi's animated LOTR.

 

[Vaz]

Literally gave birth to the most iconic creature in sci-fi horror.

And then brought Watershid Down to life with his "Thunder Honey" voice.

Truly sad. RIP Sir John.

 

[HanaBi]

Such a versatile actor and storyteller.

Of course he will always be remembered in films like Alien, 10 Rillington Place, A Man for all Seasons, and The Naked Civil Servant amongst others. But there's one particular film I truly loved of his - "Mr. Forbush and the Penguins" (1971)

An uneven film to begin with, but get past the first 20 minutes or so and it really comes into its own, and more so for Hurt: a remarkably moving & dramatic effort that I would definitely recommend

 

[Extollager]

Hurt was a bit old for the part, but aside from that was wonderful as Raskolnikov in the miniseries of Crime and Punishment. I can't recommend this production too highly.

Anthony Bate is superb as Svidrigailov in the same production.

 

[Lafayette]

I remember him as Caligula. He was incredible in that part. I remember when he first came on the screen he made your skin crawl. The other bit to this role that was really impressive to me was how I felt sorry for Caligula when I knew he was a horrid monster. How did he do that? A great actor. He will be missed.

 

[Extollager]

If you watch British miniseries from the 1970s and 1980s, you will see lots of familiar faces from I, Claudius, where John Hurt played Caligula.