List of John Hurt performances explained

Sir John Hurt, CBE (1940–2017) was an English actor and voice actor whose career spanned six decades. He had roles in over 130 films with dozens of television roles.^[1]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
1962		Phil Corbett	Ralph Thomas
1963		Max	Philip Wrestler	Short film
1964	This Is My Street	Charlie	Sidney Hayers
1966		Richard Rich	Fred Zinnemann	^[2]
1967		John	Tony Richardson
1969	Sinful Davey	Davey Haggart	John Huston
	Before Winter Comes	Lieutenant Pilkington	J. Lee Thompson
	In Search of Gregory	Daniel	Peter Wood
1971	10 Rillington Place	Timothy John Evans	Richard Fleischer	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
	Mr. Forbush and the Penguins	Richard Forbush	Roy Boulting, Arne Sucksdorff, & Alfred Viola
1972		Franz	Jacques Demy
1974	Little Malcolm	Malcolm Scrawdyke	Stuart Cooper
1975		Tom Rawlings	Freddie Francis
		Chandler	Aldo Scavarda
1977	The Disappearance	Atkinson	Stuart Cooper
	Three Dangerous Ladies	Lieutenant Simmonds	Robert Fuest	Segment: "The Island"
	Paperback	Unknown	David Bailey
	East of Elephant Rock	Nash	Don Boyd
1978	Midnight Express	Max	Alan Parker	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
		Anthony Fielding	Jerzy Skolimowski
	Watership Down	Hazel	Martin Rosen	Voice^[3]
		Aragorn	Ralph Bakshi	Voice
1979	Alien	Gilbert Kane, Executive Officer	Ridley Scott	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1980		John Merrick	David Lynch	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
	Heaven's Gate	William C. Irvine	Michael Cimino
1981	History of the World, Part I	Jesus Christ	Mel Brooks
	Night Crossing	Peter Strelzyk	Delbert Mann
1982	Partners	Kerwin	James Burrows
		Snitter	Martin Rosen	Voice
1983		Lawrence Fassett	Sam Peckinpah
1984	Champions	Bob Champion	John Irvin	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
	Success Is the Best Revenge	Dino Montecurva	Jerzy Skolimowski
		Mitchell Braddock	Stephen Frears	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor
	Nineteen Eighty-Four	Winston Smith	Michael Radford	Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor Fantasporto for Best Actor Valladolid International Film Festival for Best Actor
1985	After Darkness	Peter Hunningford	Dominique Othenin-Girard & Sergio Guerraz
		The Horned King	Ted Berman & Richard Rich	Voice
1986	Jake Speed	Sid	Andrew Lane
1987		Narrator	Mike Batt	Voice
	Rocinante	Bill	Ann Guedes, Eduardo Guedes
	White Mischief	Gilbert Colvile	Michael Radford
	From the Hip	Douglas Benoit	Bob Clark
	Aria	The Actor	Bill Bryden	Segment: "Pagliacci"
	Spaceballs	Kane	Mel Brooks	Cameo
	Vincent	Narrator	Paul Cox	Voice
1988		Lucien Metz	Nicolas Klotz
1989	Scandal	Stephen Ward	Michael Caton-Jones
	Little Sweetheart	Robert Burger	Anthony Simmons
1990	Windprints	Charles Rutherford	David Wicht
	Romeo.Juliet	La Dame aux Chats Mercutio	Armondo Linus Acosta
	The Field	Bird O'Donnell	Jim Sheridan	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
	Frankenstein Unbound	Joe Buchanan The Narrator	Roger Corman
1991	King Ralph	Lord Percival Graves	David S. Ward
	I Dreamt I Woke Up	John Boorman's Alter Ego	John Boorman
1992	Lapse of Memory	Conrad Farmer	Patrick Dewolf
1993	L'Oeil qui ment	Anthony / Le Marquis	Raúl Ruiz
	Kölcsönkapott idő	Sean	István Poór
	Monolith	Villano	John Eyres
	Even Cowgirls Get the Blues	The Countess	Gus Van Sant
1994	Rabbit Ears: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp	Storyteller	C.W. Rogers	Voice Direct-to-video
	Thumbelina	Mr. Mole	Don Bluth & Gary Goldman	Voice
	Great Moments in Aviation	Rex Goodyear	Beeban Kidron
	Second Best	Uncle Turpin	Chris Menges
1995	Rob Roy	John Graham, Marquis of Montrose	Michael Caton-Jones
	Dead Man	John Scholfield	Jim Jarmusch
	Wild Bill	Charley Prince	Walter Hill
	Two Nudes Bathing	Marquis de Prey	John Boorman	Short film Episode of Picture Windows miniseries
1997	Love and Death on Long Island	Giles De'Ath	Richard Kwietniowski	FIPRESCI Prize – Special Mention of Chicago International Film Festival Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Performance by a British Actor in an Independent Film
	Contact	S.R. Hadden	Robert Zemeckis
		Chuck Langer	Bob Swaim
	Bandyta	Babits	Maciej Dejczer
	Tender Loving Care	Dr Turner	David Wheeler	Direct-to-video
1998	The Commissioner	James Morton	George Sluizer
	Night Train	Michael Poole	John Lynch
	All the Little Animals	Mr Summers	Jeremy Thomas
1999		Sebastian	Jean-François Laguionie	English dub
	If... Dog... Rabbit...	Sean Cooper	Matthew Modine
	You're Dead	Maitland	Andy Hurst
2000		Narrator	Jun Falkenstein	Voice
	New Blood	Alan White	Michael Hurst
	Lost Souls	Father Lareaux	Janusz Kamiński
2001	Tabloid	Vince	David Blair
	Captain Corelli's Mandolin	Dr Yiannis	John Madden
	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone	Garrick Ollivander	Chris Columbus
2002	Miranda	Christian	Marc Munden
	Crime and Punishment	Porfiry	Menahem Golan
2003	Owning Mahowny	Victor Foss	Richard Kwietniowski
	Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill	Man from Maybury Hill	Anthony Byrne	Short film
	Dogville	Narrator	Lars Von Trier	Voice
2004	Hellboy	Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm	Guillermo del Toro
	Pride	Harry	John Downer	Voice
2005	Short Order	Felix	Anthony Byrne
	Valiant	Felix	Gary Chapman	Voice
	Manderlay	Narrator	Lars Von Trier	Voice
		Ben Devereaux	Iain Softley
	Shooting Dogs	Christopher	Michael Caton-Jones
		Jellon Lamb	John Hillcoat	Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2006	V for Vendetta	Adam Sutler "Fake Sutler" actors	James McTeigue
	Perfume: The Story of a Murderer	Narrator	Tom Tykwer	Voice
2007	Boxes	Le père de Fanny	Jane Birkin
		Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm	Victor Cook & Tad Stones	Voice Direct-to-DVD
2008		Arthur Seldom	Álex de la Iglesia
	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Professor Harold 'Ox' Oxley	Steven Spielberg
		Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm	Guillermo del Toro	Cameo
	Outlander	Hrothgar	Howard McCain
	Lecture 21	Mondrian Kilroy	Alessandro Baricco
	New York, I Love You	Bellhop	Shekhar Kapur	Segment "Shekhar Kapur"
2009	An Englishman in New York	Quentin Crisp	Richard Laxton
		Guitar	Jim Jarmusch
	44 Inch Chest	Old Man Peanut	Malcolm Venville	Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year
2010	Lou	Doyle	Belinda Chayko
	A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures	Grandpa Sammy	Ben Stassen	Voice
	Brighton Rock	Phil Corkery	Rowan Joffé
		Carnak	Martyn Pick	Voice
	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1	Garrick Ollivander	David Yates
2011	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
	Regret Not Speaking		Richard Kwietniowski
	Melancholia	Dexter	Lars Von Trier
	Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy	Control	Tomas Alfredson
	Immortals	Old Man / Narrator	Tarsem Singh
2012	Jayne Mansfield's Car	Kingsley Bedford	Billy Bob Thornton
	In Love with Alma Cogan	Master of Ceremonies	Tony Britten
	Sightseers	Narrator – Blake's "Jerusalem"	Ben Wheatley	Uncredited voice
2013	Charlie Countryman	Narrator	Fredrik Bond	Voice Deleted scenes^[4] ^[5] ^[6]
	Only Lovers Left Alive	Christopher Marlowe	Jim Jarmusch
	Swan Lake 3D – Live from the Mariinsky Theatre	Winter Palace / Himself	Ross MacGibbon	Voice
	Snowpiercer	Gilliam	Bong Joon-ho
	More Than Honey	Narrator	Markus Imhoof	Voice Documentary
	Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict	Narrator	Tony Britten
2014	Hercules	Cotys	Brett Ratner
2015	A.K.A Nadia	347
	The Absinthe Drinkers	Antonio Argenti	John Jopson
	Break	Jack^[7]	Nicholas Moss	Short film
		Sailor John	David Stoten	Voice
2016	ChickLit	Francis Bonar	Tony Britten
	The Journey	Harry Patterson	Nick Hamm
	Jackie	The Priest	Pablo Larraín
	Back to Utopia	Peter Panludic	Fabio Wuytack	Voice; posthumous international release
2017	My Name Is Lenny	Leslie Salmon	Ron Scalpello	Posthumous release
	That Good Night	Ralph	Eric Styles
	Damascus Cover	Miki	Daniel Zelik Berk

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Drama 61-67	Private Briggs	Episode: "Drama '61: Local Incident"
1962	Z-Cars	James Hogan	Episode: "Assault"
1963	First Night	Garry	Episode: "Menace"
1964	Armchair Theatre	Unknown	Episode: "A Jug of Bread"
	Thursday Theatre	Orpheus	Episode: "Point of Departure"
	Gideon's Way	Freddy Tinsdale	Episode: "The Tin God"
1964–65	ITV Play of the Week	Various characters	3 episodes
1973	Wessex Tales	Joshua Harlborough	Episode: "A Tragedy of Two Ambitions"
1974		Christopher 'Christy' Mahon	Television film
1975		Quentin Crisp	Television film British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
1976	Shades of Greene	Fred	Episode: "A Drive in the Country"
	Play for Today	Alec Cassell	Episode: "The Peddler"
		Tony Grey	Episode: "Tomorrow Man"
	I, Claudius	Caligula	5 episodes
1977	Spectre	Mitri Cyon	Television film
1979	Crime and Punishment	Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov	3 episodes
1983	King Lear	The Fool	Television film
1988	Deadline	Granville Jones
	David Macaulay: Pyramid	Khufu Second French Explorer	Television film Voice
1987–88		The Storyteller	9 episodes
1990		Chris Mullin	Television film
1991	Journey to Knock	Alfred
	Red Fox	Archie Carpenter	2 episodes
1992	Six Characters in Search of an Author	The Father	Television film
1993	Great Moments in Aviation	Rex Goodyear
1994	Picture Windows	Le Compte	Episode: "Two Nudes Bathing"
1995	Prisoners in Time	Eric Lomax	Episode: "Everyman"
	Screen Two	Jack Lee	Episode: "Saigon Baby"
1999–2000	Watership Down	General Woundwort	Voice 7 episodes
2001	Beckett on Film – Krapp's Last Tape	Krapp	Television film
2002	Bait	Jack Blake
2004		Alan Clark	6 episodes
	Pride	Harry	Voice Television film
2005	Hiroshima	Narrator	Voice Documentary
2007	Masters of Science Fiction	Samswope	Episode: "The Discarded"
2008	Recount	Warren Christopher	Television film
2008–2012	Merlin	The Great Dragon	Voice 64 episodes
2009		Owl	Voice Television film
		Quentin Crisp	Television film Berlin International Film Festival – Teddy Award Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
2010	Whistle and I'll Come to You	James Parkin	Television film
2011	Human Planet	Narrator	Voice Documentary
	Harry's Arctic Heroes
	Planet Dinosaur
	^[8]	Owl	Voice Television film
2012	Labyrinth	Audric Baillard	2 episodes
		The Chorus	Television film
	Playhouse Presents	The Ministry	Voice Episode: "The Snipist"
2013	Doctor Who	War Doctor	3 episodes
2014	The Strain	Professor Abraham Setrakian	Unaired pilot
2015	The Last Panthers	Tom Kendle	6 episodes
2016	The Pity of War: The Loves and Lives of the War Poets	Siegfried Sassoon	Television film ^[9]

Audio

!Year!Title!Role!Notes

2014	The Divine Comedy	Dante Alighieri	3 episodes
2015–2017	Doctor Who: The War Doctor	War Doctor	12 episodes; last three released posthumously
2015	War and Peace	Prince Bolkonsky	10 episodes
2017	The Invisible Man	Griffin	Posthumous release

Video games

!Year!Title!Role!Notes

1996		Joe the Bartender
1998	Tender Loving Care	Dr Turner
	Cracking the Conspiracy
2015	LEGO Dimensions	War Doctor	Archive audio

Other projects and contributions

• When Love Speaks (2002, EMI Classics) – "Sonnet 145"
  ("Those lips that Love's own hand did make")
• Hurt performs in drag for the promotional video for Attitude by the music group Suede.
• Hurt is seen as the 'Brian Epstein' esque mogul in Paul McCartney's 1982 video for his song "Take It Away". McCartney explains in the video commentary section of The McCartney Years DVD (for the song 'Take it Away') that Hurt himself was a friend of the Beatles and Brian Epstein, and that the Beatles had watched Hurt act in the mid-'60s and thought him a fine actor.
• Hurt is the narrator of the 1995 Discovery Channel documentary On Jupiter.^{[10] [11]}
• Narrator on the album The Seduction of Claude Debussy by the band Art of Noise (1999).
• Hurt is the narrator of the 4 part series The Universe for Channel 4 International, released in 1999 and available on DVD.
• Hurt co-starred alongside Kiefer Sutherland in the 10 part web series The Confession.
• A line from the movie Nineteen Eighty-Four featuring the voice of Hurt can be heard as the introduction to the Manic Street Preachers song "Faster"
• In two volumes of a documentary called Life in the Animal Kingdom: Untamed Africa, filmed in the Maasai Mara Game Preserve in Kenya (the two volumes being called Hunter and Hunted and Survival on the Serengeti), Hurt served as the narrator.
• Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict, a British feature film written and directed by Tony Britten – narrator.^[12]
• Narrator for the BBC 5 live documentary "The day we won Wimbledon."^[13]
• Narrator of the Mercedes F1 Team video ad based on the poem "If—" by Rudyard Kipling.^[14]
• Voice of the father (in the letter to his son) in the animated short The Alchemist's Letter by Carlos Andre Stevens.^[15]
• Hurt voiced the character of Griffin in an audio drama of The Invisible Man for Big Finish Productions released posthumously in February 2017.

Notes and References

1. https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/91173|86036/John-Hurt#filmography John Hurt filmography
2. Web site: Filmography for John Hurt.
3. Web site: John Hurt (visual voices guide). August 20, 2024. Behind The Voice Actors. .A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information..
4. Web site: Ebiri on Charlie Countryman: A Death Haunted Shia LaBeouf Goes East. https://archive.today/20140923190137/http://www.vulture.com/m/2013/11/movie-review-charlie-countryman.html. dead. 23 September 2014. Bilge Ebiri. Vulture. 15 November 2013. 23 September 2014.
5. Charlie Countryman. Justin Lowe. The Hollywood Reporter. 22 January 2013. 23 September 2014.
6. Web site: Charlie Countryman Blu-ray Review. Kevin Yeoman. High Def Digest. 29 January 2014. 23 September 2014.
7. Web site: Sydney Indie film festival Short Films: Break (UK). sydneyindiefilmfestival.com . 2016 . 4 January 2018.
8. Web site: The Gruffalo's Child . 10 December 2011 . BBC One.
9. Web site: The Pity of War: the Loves and Lives of the War Poets: a poignant reminder of Wilfred Owen's reportage: review. Jim White. The Telegraph. 14 November 2016. 27 February 2017.
10. Web site: "On Jupiter" on the Discovery Channel. jpl.nasa.gov. 14 August 2013.
11. News: Wilford. John. COVER STORY; Jupiter Is a Nice Place to Visit . . . But You Wouldn't Want to Live There – Page 2. 14 August 2013. The New York Times. 3 December 1995.
12. http://www.benjaminbrittenfilm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/BenjaminBrittenPress-packFINAL.pdf "Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict"
13. Web site: BBC Radio 5 live – The Day We Won Wimbledon. BBC.
14. IF.... 20 November 2014.
15. IF.... 21 April 2015.