John Hurt died on Friday in London according to his agent Charles McDonald.
British actor John Hurt, who has died aged 77, was a cult actor of many faces, often playing supporting roles which went down in the annals of cinema history.
John Hurt, who battled pancreatic cancer, died on Friday in London according to his agent Charles McDonald.
Whether as the first victim in "Alien", the sensitive monster in the "Elephant Man" or the transvestite writer in "the Naked Civil Servant", Mr Hurt slipped seamlessly into any role.
"I'm open to any genre - that is who I am. Essentially I am an actor for hire," he once said.
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II last year for services to drama, Mr Hurt was born on January 22, 1940 near Chesterfield in the British heartland county of Derbyshire.
Mr Hurt announced on June 16, 2015 on his blog that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer
His mother, who herself was an amateur actress, forbade him from going to the cinema, which she thought was too common for the son of a pastor.
He discovered theatre at school, but it was towards painting that the great admirer of Edvard Munch first turned, securing a grant to become teacher of drawing at Saint Martin's School of Art in London.
In 1960 his passion for the stage caught up with him and he entered the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) from which he graduated two years later.
In parallel with the stage he also made his debut in television, where he made his mark in Britain portraying transvestite writer Quentin Crisp, and then the Roman emperor Caligula.
His role model was Alec Guinness in David Lean's Oliver Twist.
"It was the first time on film I'd seen an actor practise the theatrical tradition of taking himself to the part, rather than the other way round - something that remains a lasting influence on my work to this day," he told the Guardian newspaper in 2011.
Twice nominated for an Oscar for playing the tortured John Merrick in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man" and for his role as the heroin addict Max in "Midnight Express," Hurt's career spanned over 50 years. After minor television and film appearances, his breakout came in 1966 as Richard Rich in Fred Zinnemann's "A Man For All Seasons," followed by his portrayal of Caligula in the BBC miniseries "I, Claudius" in 1976.
Mr Hurt is unrecognizable in perhaps his most memorable role as the lead in David Lynch's "The Elephant Man." He endured eight hours in the makeup chair daily to transform into John Merrick. The elaborate mask prohibited him from sleeping lying down or even eating while it was on. His would eat his last meal midmorning as the mask was being applied - usually raw eggs mixed in orange juice - and not again until after midnight.
His performance won him a second Oscar nomination and a Bafta for the best actor. He won another Bafta for his whole career in 2012.
Hurt excelled in cult movies and particularly in futuristic films, like "1984", in which he played Winston Smith in the same year, "V for Vendetta", by James McTeigue in 2005 and "Snowpiercer" by Joon-ho Bong in 2013.
But his career of 140 films, of which he admits openly some he accepted to make a living, also led him to portray Garrick Ollivander, a genial magic wand seller in the Harry Potter films, and the mad scientist Oxley in the "Indiana Jones Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".
John Hurt's role model was Alec Guinness in David Lean's Oliver Twist
Hurt was also a prolific voice actor, appearing as Hazel in the animated "Watership Down," and as Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's "The Lord of the Rings." He also voiced The Horned King in "The Black Cauldron" and provided the narration for "Dogville."
After having fought problems with alcohol, Hurt announced on June 16, 2015 on his blog that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer and said he was "more than optimistic about a satisfactory outcome".
Scarred by the accidental death in 1983 of his fiancee of 16 years, the French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot, Hurt was married four times and had two children.
"I have lots of favorite memories but I can't say that I have a favorite film. I have favorite parts which are not in particularly successful films," Hurt told The Guardian in 2000.
Raise your wands for Mr Ollivander
He said, "I've worked with people from Fred Zinnemann, John Huston, through to Richard Fleischer, all of those boys from Hollywood and so on and Sam Peckinpah and then the Mike Radfords... I've been incredibly lucky with the directors I've worked with. You don't realize it at the time, it's just in retrospect if you look back you think, 'Jeez, when I saw that CV it nearly frightened the life out of me.' I thought, "That's not bad for an old drunk."
(With inputs from AFP and AP)