John Hurt
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor whose career has spanned six decades. He initially came to prominence for his supporting role as Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons. Since then he has played leading roles as Quentin Crisp in the film The Naked Civil Servant, John Merrick in David Lynch's biopic The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in the dystopian drama Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in the Stephen Frears drama The Hit, and Stephen...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionActor
Date of Birth22 January 1940
gardening physical
I like the physical activity of gardening. It's kind of thrilling. I do a lot of weeding.
given gives interested ought somebody thank
I'm not interested in awards. I never have been. I don't think they are important. Don't get me wrong, if somebody gives me a prize, I thank them as gratefully as I know how, because it's very nice to be given a prize. But I don't think that awards ought to be sought.
hankering particular parts played
I'm essentially the result of other people's imagination. And that's fine. Because of other people's imagination, I've played parts I would never have thought I could do. Still, I've never had a hankering or an ambition for any particular role.
drama heck left might paid school straight
I left drama school and went straight into a 10-week film for which I was paid $75 I might say, which for 1962 was one heck of a lot of money.
listen love pipes
I love the uilleann pipes and listen to Ronan Browne who's an uilleann piper.
civil early films sixties throughout tv
How my film career happened, I don't know. It was unplanned. I'd been in films and TV throughout the Sixties and early Seventies, but it was really 'The Naked Civil Servant' in 1975 that put me on the radar.
beauty blowing blown boy claim influenced life love mad paper piece scene watching wind
I'd love to claim that what I have done in my life is of my doing, but it's not of my doing at all. I've blown around in the wind like a mad thing, influenced by this and that - like a piece of paper: like the boy in that scene in 'American Beauty' watching a piece of paper blowing hither and thither.
people photos pictures stage
If I'm doing a play, 30 to 40 percent of the people that come to the stage door have pictures of 'Alien' for me to autograph. And usually, the photos are pretty gory ones.
hard normally quickly rained rid system
It rained so hard and so quickly that the drainage system wasn't able to get rid of it as it normally does.
bend quieter work
Things come in a quieter way to me. It's not laziness, and it's not diffidence. I just know how far you have to bend for work. That's important for me.
among bad cat seems
It's going to put the cat among the pigeons, and that's not a bad thing, it seems to me.
reasons
I've done some stinkers in the cinema. You can't regret it; there are always reasons for doing something, even if it's just the location.
sorts
I've done all sorts of children's things before, but none as big as 'Harry Potter.'
awful change dressing hanging lighting room science track
There's an awful lot of hanging around when you're doing science fiction. Going down and waiting for them to set up, being told to go back to your dressing room while they change the track and the lighting and so on.