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
best decide left others peculiar
Actors are not always the best judges. We have a peculiar idea of what we think we are, and sometimes it's best left to others to decide what we play.
amount british certain field time
My father's a clergyman, and he was in the mission field for a certain amount of time in British Honduras, which is now Belize.
across audience coming deal finding forget great performance seems seen sides truth
Don't forget there are two sides to performing. Finding the truth, but you also have to be transparent enough for the audience to see it. How many times have you seen a performance and thought: 'Well, it seems to be meaning a great deal to you but it ain't coming across to me?' It is to be shared.
directors great obvious prefer relief whom work
Very, very broadly speaking, you can put directors into two areas: One for whom you work, and the other with whom you work. And I prefer the latter, for obvious reasons. It's a great relief to feel that you're working with someone rather than for someone.
stars ambition embarrassed
I never had any ambition to be a star, or whatever it is called, and I'm still embarrassed at the word.
essence games people
Pretending to be other people is my game and that to me is the essence of the whole business of acting.
moving careers may
It's quite a dangerous career move to go wilfully on making films that may not find a distributor.
irony life-is paradox
Life is full of ironies and paradoxes.
perspective each-day progression
Each day, as you get older, there is a new perspective on life. It's a progression of some sort.
ambition would-be kind
It would be difficult to have any unfulfilled ambitions because I don't have any ambitions. I've never been that kind of performer.
insecure thinking parent
My parents felt that acting was far too insecure. Don't ask me what made them think that painting would be more secure.
sorry wine mind
I put everything I can into the mulberry of my mind and hope that it is going to ferment and make a decent wine. How that process happens, I'm sorry to tell you I can't describe.
arrogant
We're all far too afraid of being so arrogant to say "Either you can or you can't."
independent should-have matter
I've spent a great deal of my life doing independent film, and that is partly because the subject matter interests me and partly because that is the basis of the film industry. That's where the filmmakers come from, it's where they start and sometimes its where they should have stayed.