I didn't want to believe it. I held off on an immediate reaction because the only citations used in articles were that of "British newspapers" that I've heard are tabloid-ish. But it appears that the worse has happened.
Sir John Hurt, one of the greatest actors to ever bless the stage or screen (big or small) has passed away at the age of 77.
To say that Sir John was an acting legend would be putting it lightly. He is one of the few actors where every time he appeared he stole the screen. He gave it everything, there was never a moment when I thought, "boy, is he phoning it in this on." No. He was dedicated to his craft.
I'd like to take the time to highlight some of his work.
First I'll pinpoint some of the voice work he did. He was apart of the two animated films based on the works of the late author Richard Adams; he was Hazel in Watership Down (1978) and Snitter in The Plague Dogs (1982). But the voice acting role of his that I want to highlight in particular was when he portrayed Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings (1978). In my opinion, Hurt's portrayal of the ranger turned king is superior to Viggo Mortensen's in the Peter Jackson trilogy. No disrespect to Mortensen but for me Hurt was able to convey the tough warrior aspect all the while showing that, yes, this man is of royal blood.
When it comes to his film and TV roles I could honestly write a book about all the fantastic performances that he had. There's still plenty of his films I need to see but every film of his I've seen I was always impressed.
Whether it was his role as a heroin-addicted English prisoner in a Turkish prison (his first Oscar-nominated role), a concerned father wanting to help his friends and family escape East gin Night Crossing (1982), a dictator in V for Vendetta (2005), a fatherly academic of the supernatural in the Hellboy movies, a wonderful mystical old story teller in Jim Henson's The Storyteller, the spiritual leader on a post-apocalyptic train in Snowpiercer (2013), or being the first actor to get an alien burst through his chest in Alien (1979) he was always amazing.
I also loved his comedic chops whenever he got the chance to. Mainly whenever he worked with Mel Brooks. Like when he played Jesus in History of the World Part 1 (1981) or when he parodied his chest buster scene in Spaceballs (1987)
But to me, if I was to pick the one role of his that I think he will be remembered for is when he portrayed John Merrick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980). This performance is simply brilliant. There are many scenes I could use to pinpoint his amazing portrayal, but I'll stick with one where he manages to express through all the makeup, the vocal expression is great, and should be witnessed.
In the latter part of his career, Sir John managed to gain a whole new fanbase with his involvement with two major nerd franchises. He portrayed the wand salesman Ollivander who gave Harry Potter his wand and added another sense of magic and wonder to that wizarding world.
And of course, I can't leave out when he became part of the Doctor Who's vast universe by portraying an unusual incarnation of the Doctor - the War Doctor. He could convey the weariness of a man born to fight a brutal war, and he could display the charming comedic aspect that is associated with the character of The Doctor. Watching him work off of the David Tennant and Matt Smith is simply delightful. He continued to play the War Doctor in several Big Finish audio dramas.
The charm, wit, and magic of this man will be missed. Thank you for everything, Sir John.
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