Profiles

Born in Chesterfield on 22nd January 1940, John describes his childhood as 'idyllic', growing up in Shirebrook where his father was the parish vicar.

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.

His acclaimed performance in the lead role brought about a period of fine performances over the next few years.

John Hurt as Caligula in I, Claudius

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.

Recent 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.'

In 2007, John Hurt was one of the subjects of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? family history series where, much to his disappointment, the actor discovered his long held-belief in ancestral links to Irish nobility were nothing more than a family myth!