Top 10 John Hurt Performances
Hello, Toby Gold here, and welcome to another Top 10 List. Today, I'll be counting down my Top 10 John Hurt performances. Sir John Vincent Hurt was my all-time favourite actor, and he passed away last year of pancreatic cancer. For this list, I've chosen my favourite film and television performances that Hurt acted. In case you haven't seen the movie, I will issue a spoiler alert. So, let's begin.
10. Harold Oxley -- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Say what you want about the fourth Indiana Jones film, but for me, Hurt made the film worth watching. As Harold "Ox" Oxley, Hurt plays a father figure to the man in the hat's long-lost son, Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf. Ox has an obsession with the crystal skulls, crystalline objects that resemble craniums, and spends a large sum of the film in an eccentric trance as a result. It was fun to see Hurt in an Indiana Jones film, especially as a crazy recluse, but if he had appeared in an earlier instalment, it would have been just as good.
9. The Horned King -- The Black Cauldron (1985)
Everything's better with John Hurt... even an extremely dark Disney movie that nearly killed the company itself. In The Black Cauldron, Hurt voices the Horned King, an evil undead monarch who seeks to recover the titular pot so he can raise an army from the dead and conquer the world. Hurt lends his sultry voice to a truly terrifying Disney villain, and casts a dark shadow over this film. The most terrifying part of Hurt's performance is his death scene, where furry sidekick Gurgi jumps into the Cauldron to take away its power, causing the Horned King to be skinned and skeletonized alive. And this is rated PG, for God's sake!
8. Old Man -- Immortals (2011)
It can be hard to share a job, but Hurt does it very well in Tarsem Singh's Greek bloodbath Immortals. Playing a mysterious old man who trains Henry Cavill's Greek hero Theseus as a warrior, Hurt shares the role with Luke Evans, who plays Zeus. The old man is merely Zeus' mortal disguise. Sadly, Hurt's extraordinary talents are wasted in this mediocre movie. While his role is short and sweet, John Hurt's mere presence was a lifesaver, and his advice to Theseus' young son at the end resonates with me. You shouldn't fear the future, and I hope to live a long and happy life.
7. James Graham, Marquess of Montrose -- Rob Roy (1995)
In Scotland, 1713, Liam Neeson's Scottish clan chief Rob Roy MacGregor borrows a loan from Montrose, an English nobleman played by Hurt, to trade cattle and alleviate his clan's poverty. Unfortunately, Montrose hires sinister aristocrat Archibald Cunningham to steal the money, then seizes MacGregor's land to cover the debt, taking everything from the Scottish hero in the process. MacGregor swears revenge on Montrose as a result. Speaking with an elegant British accent, Hurt delivers a deliciously villainous performance in this film, his polite demeanour belying his plan to frame MacGregor and steal his land. I don't blame Rob for accepting Montrose's deal, since I love John Hurt to the point where I'd accept any offer he gives me as long as it benefits us both.
6. High Chancellor Adam Sutler -- V for Vendetta (2005)
In this powerful dystopian thriller, Hurt plays Adam Sutler, the Big Brother-like dictator of a futuristic United Kingdom who faces opposition from V, a masked vigilante terrorist out to blow up the Houses of Parliament. 20 years prior to the film's events, Sutler, whose name is a cross between Susan (his name in the graphic novel on which the film was based) and Hitler, orchestrated a false flag viral attack on the UK in order to seize power. While he didn't appear directly until the climax, every time Hurt's giant face was on the big screen made the audience root for his downfall. Now that's a great actor.
5. Kane -- Alien (1979)
In Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror masterpiece, Hurt plays Kane, the executive officer of the commercial space tug Nostromo who gets a little too close to a destructive alien creature called the Xenomorph alien. While investigating to what appears to be a distress call, Kane discovers a chamber containing hundreds of large egg-like objects. One of them hatches, and a creature springs out, breaks through his helmet, and latches onto his face. After arriving back on board the ship, Kane chokes and convulses the next morning at breakfast, causing an extraterrestrial monstrosity to erupt from his chest. Kane's death scene is one of cinema's most iconic, and it was parodied in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, with Hurt reprising his ill-fated role. There's a saying, "there are no small parts, only small actors," and Hurt proves that to be true, since Kane's death led to the birth of the Alien franchise, literally.
4. Garrick Ollivander -- Harry Potter franchise (2001; 2010-2011)
Being British, it's not surprising that John Hurt appeared in the Harry Potter movies. In the first and last two films in J.K. Rowling's hit fantasy series, Hurt plays Mr. Ollivander, the owner of a wand shop in Diagon Alley who sells the Boy Who Lived his first wand. Hurt imbues the character with elderly wisdom and exposition, making it hard to picture anyone except Hurt as Ollivander. If I were a wizard, I'd want to buy a good wand from Hurt any day.
3. Control -- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
In this adaptation of John le Carré's Cold War spy novel, Hurt plays Control, the head of British intelligence who is forced into retirement along with his right-hand man, George Smiley, while trying to identify a long-term mole within the organization. Hurt portrays the British intelligence chief as an intelligent (no pun intended) and embattled man, continuing to influence the plot long after he leaves the film during the opening credits. I like Cold War movies, and Hurt's presence, combined with an interesting story, made Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy a fun movie to watch.
2. John Merrick -- The Elephant Man (1980)
Undoubtedly, one of Hurt's best performances was in David Lynch's historical drama film The Elephant Man, in which he plays the title character. Playing John Merrick, a deformed man from a circus sideshow whose soul is as gentle as his face is rough, Hurt's casting in the role was instrumental in making the audience feel sorry for the Elephant Man. The name "John Hurt" is meaningful, considering that it belongs to a man who plays, well, hurting characters. Receiving a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance (sadly, he never took home the golden statuette), Hurt proved that even heavy makeup cannot stop him from delivering a truly amazing performance.
Before I reveal my top choice, here are some honourable mentions:
- Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm -- Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
- Kilgharrah the Great Dragon -- Merlin (2008-2012)
- Winston Smith -- Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
- Gilliam -- Snowpiercer (2013)
1. War Doctor -- Doctor Who (2013)
At the conclusion of the season seven finale of Doctor Who, the Eleventh Doctor and his companion, Clara Oswald, are trapped in the Doctor's timeline. Clara believes that she has seen all of the Doctor's many faces, but there is one she doesn't recognize. The incarnation she does not recognize is John Hurt, who lost the right to the name of the Doctor, having done what he did "without choice... in the name of peace and sanity." In the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," Hurt's incarnation, known as the War Doctor, tries to wipe out all combatants of the Time War using a weapon called "the Moment." However, the Moment manifests itself in the form of his future companion, who tells him that she will do anything he asks. the War Doctor teams up with his future incarnations to prevent them from living with the regret and sadness of his failure. The Doctors freeze their home planet of Gallifrey in time, tricking their enemies into destroying themselves. Before returning to his own timeline, the War Doctor thanks his future selves for helping him redeem himself, and goes back into the TARDIS to regenerate. Hurt has played many morally complex and ambiguous characters, and because of that, his portrayal of the Doctor was, in my opinion, worthy of a fourth BAFTA. He wasn't the Doctor we wanted, but the one we needed.
Do you agree with my list? What's your favourite John Hurt performance? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
10. Harold Oxley -- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Say what you want about the fourth Indiana Jones film, but for me, Hurt made the film worth watching. As Harold "Ox" Oxley, Hurt plays a father figure to the man in the hat's long-lost son, Mutt Williams, played by Shia LaBeouf. Ox has an obsession with the crystal skulls, crystalline objects that resemble craniums, and spends a large sum of the film in an eccentric trance as a result. It was fun to see Hurt in an Indiana Jones film, especially as a crazy recluse, but if he had appeared in an earlier instalment, it would have been just as good.
9. The Horned King -- The Black Cauldron (1985)
Everything's better with John Hurt... even an extremely dark Disney movie that nearly killed the company itself. In The Black Cauldron, Hurt voices the Horned King, an evil undead monarch who seeks to recover the titular pot so he can raise an army from the dead and conquer the world. Hurt lends his sultry voice to a truly terrifying Disney villain, and casts a dark shadow over this film. The most terrifying part of Hurt's performance is his death scene, where furry sidekick Gurgi jumps into the Cauldron to take away its power, causing the Horned King to be skinned and skeletonized alive. And this is rated PG, for God's sake!
8. Old Man -- Immortals (2011)
It can be hard to share a job, but Hurt does it very well in Tarsem Singh's Greek bloodbath Immortals. Playing a mysterious old man who trains Henry Cavill's Greek hero Theseus as a warrior, Hurt shares the role with Luke Evans, who plays Zeus. The old man is merely Zeus' mortal disguise. Sadly, Hurt's extraordinary talents are wasted in this mediocre movie. While his role is short and sweet, John Hurt's mere presence was a lifesaver, and his advice to Theseus' young son at the end resonates with me. You shouldn't fear the future, and I hope to live a long and happy life.
7. James Graham, Marquess of Montrose -- Rob Roy (1995)
In Scotland, 1713, Liam Neeson's Scottish clan chief Rob Roy MacGregor borrows a loan from Montrose, an English nobleman played by Hurt, to trade cattle and alleviate his clan's poverty. Unfortunately, Montrose hires sinister aristocrat Archibald Cunningham to steal the money, then seizes MacGregor's land to cover the debt, taking everything from the Scottish hero in the process. MacGregor swears revenge on Montrose as a result. Speaking with an elegant British accent, Hurt delivers a deliciously villainous performance in this film, his polite demeanour belying his plan to frame MacGregor and steal his land. I don't blame Rob for accepting Montrose's deal, since I love John Hurt to the point where I'd accept any offer he gives me as long as it benefits us both.
6. High Chancellor Adam Sutler -- V for Vendetta (2005)
In this powerful dystopian thriller, Hurt plays Adam Sutler, the Big Brother-like dictator of a futuristic United Kingdom who faces opposition from V, a masked vigilante terrorist out to blow up the Houses of Parliament. 20 years prior to the film's events, Sutler, whose name is a cross between Susan (his name in the graphic novel on which the film was based) and Hitler, orchestrated a false flag viral attack on the UK in order to seize power. While he didn't appear directly until the climax, every time Hurt's giant face was on the big screen made the audience root for his downfall. Now that's a great actor.
5. Kane -- Alien (1979)
In Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi horror masterpiece, Hurt plays Kane, the executive officer of the commercial space tug Nostromo who gets a little too close to a destructive alien creature called the Xenomorph alien. While investigating to what appears to be a distress call, Kane discovers a chamber containing hundreds of large egg-like objects. One of them hatches, and a creature springs out, breaks through his helmet, and latches onto his face. After arriving back on board the ship, Kane chokes and convulses the next morning at breakfast, causing an extraterrestrial monstrosity to erupt from his chest. Kane's death scene is one of cinema's most iconic, and it was parodied in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs, with Hurt reprising his ill-fated role. There's a saying, "there are no small parts, only small actors," and Hurt proves that to be true, since Kane's death led to the birth of the Alien franchise, literally.
4. Garrick Ollivander -- Harry Potter franchise (2001; 2010-2011)
Being British, it's not surprising that John Hurt appeared in the Harry Potter movies. In the first and last two films in J.K. Rowling's hit fantasy series, Hurt plays Mr. Ollivander, the owner of a wand shop in Diagon Alley who sells the Boy Who Lived his first wand. Hurt imbues the character with elderly wisdom and exposition, making it hard to picture anyone except Hurt as Ollivander. If I were a wizard, I'd want to buy a good wand from Hurt any day.
3. Control -- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
In this adaptation of John le Carré's Cold War spy novel, Hurt plays Control, the head of British intelligence who is forced into retirement along with his right-hand man, George Smiley, while trying to identify a long-term mole within the organization. Hurt portrays the British intelligence chief as an intelligent (no pun intended) and embattled man, continuing to influence the plot long after he leaves the film during the opening credits. I like Cold War movies, and Hurt's presence, combined with an interesting story, made Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy a fun movie to watch.
2. John Merrick -- The Elephant Man (1980)
Undoubtedly, one of Hurt's best performances was in David Lynch's historical drama film The Elephant Man, in which he plays the title character. Playing John Merrick, a deformed man from a circus sideshow whose soul is as gentle as his face is rough, Hurt's casting in the role was instrumental in making the audience feel sorry for the Elephant Man. The name "John Hurt" is meaningful, considering that it belongs to a man who plays, well, hurting characters. Receiving a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance (sadly, he never took home the golden statuette), Hurt proved that even heavy makeup cannot stop him from delivering a truly amazing performance.
Before I reveal my top choice, here are some honourable mentions:
- Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm -- Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
- Kilgharrah the Great Dragon -- Merlin (2008-2012)
- Winston Smith -- Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
- Gilliam -- Snowpiercer (2013)
1. War Doctor -- Doctor Who (2013)
At the conclusion of the season seven finale of Doctor Who, the Eleventh Doctor and his companion, Clara Oswald, are trapped in the Doctor's timeline. Clara believes that she has seen all of the Doctor's many faces, but there is one she doesn't recognize. The incarnation she does not recognize is John Hurt, who lost the right to the name of the Doctor, having done what he did "without choice... in the name of peace and sanity." In the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," Hurt's incarnation, known as the War Doctor, tries to wipe out all combatants of the Time War using a weapon called "the Moment." However, the Moment manifests itself in the form of his future companion, who tells him that she will do anything he asks. the War Doctor teams up with his future incarnations to prevent them from living with the regret and sadness of his failure. The Doctors freeze their home planet of Gallifrey in time, tricking their enemies into destroying themselves. Before returning to his own timeline, the War Doctor thanks his future selves for helping him redeem himself, and goes back into the TARDIS to regenerate. Hurt has played many morally complex and ambiguous characters, and because of that, his portrayal of the Doctor was, in my opinion, worthy of a fourth BAFTA. He wasn't the Doctor we wanted, but the one we needed.
Do you agree with my list? What's your favourite John Hurt performance? This is Toby Gold, bidding you farewell until we meet again.
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