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Actor John Hurt Dies At Age 77 (hollywoodreporter.com)
Slashdot reader necro81 writes: A fantastic chameleon of the stage and screen has died. Sir John Hurt passed away at age 77. Slashdot readers should recognize him as the first person to have a xenomorph burst from his chest in the original Alien (a scene he later parodied in Spaceballs ). Others may recall he played the downtrodden protagonist Winston Smith in the film adaption of 1984 , then later played the tyrannical High Chancellor in V for Vendetta . Also: the titular character in The Elephant Man, Caligula in I, Claudius, Ollivander in the Harry Potter films and, more recently, Gilliam in Snowpiercer. But his career spanned decades and genres, and our world is a bit meeker and colorless without him.
Hurt also appeared as the War Doctor in five episodes of the new Doctor Who series, and provided the voice of Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
Hurt also appeared as the War Doctor in five episodes of the new Doctor Who series, and provided the voice of Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
Hurt also played the unforgettable, self-proclaimed God, Caligula in I, Claudius.
He played reclusive billionaire S.R. Hadden, who went to the Mir space lab to manage his cancer.
I will never forget his masterpiece of a autobiographical movie where he relates his issue with highschool bullying, chiefly being forced into his own locker by a gang of bullies.
The Hurt locker is really my favorite movie.
Most people care when anyone they knew dies. It doesn't always matter if you liked them or not, or how well you knew them. Part of it seems to be a reminder of mortality - for example I remember John Hurt making movies when I was young and I'm now older than he was when I first saw him. That's a pretty powerful realization.
The thing about celebrities that makes them interesting is that many people are familiar with them. I might have a stronger emotional attachment to my uncle, but I can't talk about his life with strangers on slashdot.
Man, you really need that seminar!
Don't forget Helboy or Hellboy 2, thought he was great in both as Hellboy's adopted father. Kinda surprised it wasn't mentioned in the summary, both were pretty recent and big movies.