John Hurt

Hurt married four times in his life. His first marriage was to actress Annette Robertson in 1962. The couple divorced in 1964.

In 1967, he went into a relationship with French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot. For fifteen years, Hurt’s relationship with Pierrot stayed strong. Just when the couple decided to seal their love into marriage, a tragic accident took away Pierrot’s life.

In 1984, Hurt married his old friend and American actress, Donna Peacock. The couple moved to Kenya but divorced six years later in 1990. The same year, he married American production assistant Joan Dalton. He has two sons from the marriage, Alexander ‘Sasha’ John Vincent Hurt and Nicholas ‘Nick’ Hurt. This marriage too did not last long and they separated in 1996.

John Hurt was born on January 22, 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire to Phyllis and Arnould Herbert Hurt. His mother was an amateur actress and engineer while his father was a mathematician who became a clergyman for the Church of England. He even served as the Vicar of Shirebrook and St John’s parish, Sunderland.

When Hurt turned five, his family moved to South Derbyshire where his father became the vicar of St. Stephen's Church in Woodville. Hurt had a strict upbringing as a child. He wasn’t allowed to watch films nor was he permitted to interact with local children, and thus lived a life of solitude. He was bit by the acting bug while studying at the Anglican St Michael’s Preparatory School in Otford, Kent.

Hurt’s first ever performance on stage was that of a girl in the school production, ‘The Bluebird’. At the age of 12, his family moved to Grimsby, Lincolnshire. Therein, Hurt became a boarder at Lincoln School.

Though Hurt was keen on taking up acting professionally in his later years, his parents objected to the idea and instead proposed him to become an art teacher. At 17 years of age, he enrolled at the Grimsby Art School to study art.

In 1959, Hurt won a scholarship that allowed him to study at Saint Martin's School of Art in London for a diploma in arts. Not able to attain yet another scholarship, Hurt turned to his first passion, acting. In 1960, Hurt won a scholarship to Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). Therein he trained for two years to become an actor.

Hurt’s first stint at acting was for a mainstream play, ‘Infanticide in the House of Fred Ginger’ in 1962. The same year, he made his film debut in a supporting role for the ill-fated ‘The Wild and Willing’

The dismissal career beginning did little to dampen the spirit of Hurt who went ahead to take up roles in a number of plays including, ‘Inadmissible Evidence’, ‘Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs’ and so on.

In 1966, Hurt got his first major role for the film, ‘A Man for All Seasons’ as Richard Rich. The movie gained him widespread appreciation. Following this, he featured in a number of theater plays including ‘Macbeth’, ‘Man and Superman’, ‘The Caretaker’, ‘The Dumb Waiter’and ‘Travesties’.

In 1971, he capped the role of Timothy Evans in ’10 Rillington Place’. In the film, his character was hanged for murders committed by his landlord John Christie. His impeccable portrayal of the character of Evans earned him a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Though Hurt had created a name for himself in theatre as well as films, his talent was not completely tapped. It was only when he entered small screen that his potential as an actor was fully realised. He gained an opportunity to bring to camera an entire range of his acting capabilities and his magnitude as a performer.

In his five decades and on-going career he gave some stellar performances for various television series and films. His best however came first for the television series, ‘The Naked Civil Servant’ in which he capped the role of Quentin Crisp. Hurt's excellent portrayal of the character earned him rave reviews. For the big screen, Hurt hit it big with ‘Midnight Express’, ‘Alien’, ‘The Elephant Man’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’.