John Hurt is an excellent British actor who may be known to the public for his roles in such films as "The Elephant Man", "Alien", "V for Vendetta" and others. However, this is only a small list of popular films in which John is played. How did he become an actor and how did his life turn out?
Family and childhood
John Hurt was born on January 22 from 1940, in the city of Chesterfield, Derbish county. The actor's father was engaged in teaching mathematics, but later he decided to give up this occupation, was ordained and after that he became an English priest. The mother of the future actor, Phyllis Messi, was an engineer, and on weekends she took part in productions in a simple non-professional theater.
It was this hobby in the future that not only influenced the entire life of the actor, but also inspired John to take up the acting craft. John had an older brother and an adoptive sister, however, unlike John, they connected life with the church.
This step was a kind of response to the many hardships that John suffered as a child. He and the rest of the children were brought up in an atmosphere of religious rigor. Moreover, his father forbade John to communicate with his peers, as he was sure that they would teach him something bad. Another prohibition concerns the fact that John was forbidden to attend the theater, although he lived opposite him. Maybe because of this, the movie remained a magical world for John.
While studying at school, John simultaneously began to take part in various productions. In this field, his mother, who loved theater, became an example for his work. At the age of 17, when the clerical education and its horrors were left behind, he went to an art school. Then he studied at several more educational institutions of acting.
Best roles
John got his first role in 1962, but it was a character in the movie "Wild and Sorrow". Then he played in the project "I, Claudius", where he played the emperor Caligula. After that there was the picture "The Naked Official", where he played a homosexual writer named Quentin Crisp.
The actor was nominated for a BAFTA for his 1972 film Rillington Place 10. After 6 years, Alan Parker invited him to the painting "Midnight Express". This project eventually received two Oscars and six Golden Globes. At the same time, one globe went to John Hurt for Best Actor.
Then came the nineties, and during this period John Hurt continued to actively act in a variety of films, and during this period his best films were such films as "Contact", "Ascent", as well as the picture "All Small Animals".
In the new millennium, the actor stepped into the image of the good old wizard Mr. Ollivander from the cinematic universe of Harry Potter, known to everyone. A little later, he starred in such films as "Hellboy", "Vikings", as well as in the film "Melancholy" and several TV series.
All these and other projects, in which the actor took part, were able to vividly show that the talent of this person did not disappear and did not fade after many years. And that is why the Berlinale prize for the leading role in the film "An Englishman in New York" has become just another bright and well-deserved confirmation of his achievements in cinema.
The most recent films in which John Hurt took part include the action movie "Through the Snow" with Chris Evans, the popular TV series "Doctor Who" and the drama "The Way".
Personal life
The personal life of this talented actor was very eventful, because he got married and started a family four times. In his youth, he made Annette Robertson his wife, and their married life lasted only two years.
After the divorce, the actor struck up an affair with Marie-Lise Volpelier-Perrault, a popular model from France at that time, with whom he lived in a joint relationship without marriage for 15 years. This union ended with the tragic death of the model in 1983.
The very next year, he officially married Donna Peacock, an American actress. They never had children, and this ultimately led to the fact that the couple divorced.
After that, John Hurt had a third wife, and she was Joe Dalton, who works as an assistant director. John lived with her for several years, during which their family was replenished with two sons - Nicholas and Alexander. However, even having two children could not save the couple from breaking up. In 2005, John, who at that time was already 65 years old, connected his life with the fourth, and already the last woman in his life. This time it was Anwen Rhys Meyers, an advertising producer.
Death of John Hurt
Having lived in his fourth marriage with Anwen Rhys Meyers for about 10 years, John was examined by a doctor that he had developed pancreatic cancer. Fortunately, the cancer was still in its early stages at the time of detection. And, despite this dangerous disease, John still did not leave the acting career and was as optimistic as possible. Of course, he was simultaneously engaged in treatment, and after 5 months it bore fruit - the doctors said that John was able to defeat cancer.
However, two years later, on January 27, 2017, the whole world learned that John Hurt had died. Death came to him when he was at home on January 25, but another date became official due to a long medical examination - January 27. According to experts, the cause of death is the same pancreatic cancer.
