2017 continues to be relentless in its quest to knock off beloved celebrities. On January 27th, John Hurt passed away at the age of 77 due to as yet undisclosed reasons.
While Hurt may not be as well known to the general public as he should be, there’s no doubt that you’ve seen him before even if you don’t recognize the name. He has been in a ton of classic films over his six decades in film. Some of his most notable roles were as Kane in Alien, John Merrick in The Elephant Man, and Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Specifically, his role in Alien is one of the most memorable horror scenes of all time where an alien bursts through the actor’s chest. John Hurt continued to star in films prominently in recent years as well. He had roles in V for Vendetta, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Harry Potter series, and, most recently, 2016’s Jackie.
During his lengthy career, Hurt was nominated for only two Oscars for his leading roles in Midnight Express and The Elephant Man. In 2015, Hurt announced that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that eventually went into remission in October of that year. The actor was also knighted the same year. Hurt died just six days after his 77th birthday.
All respects go to John Hurt’s family and friends.
