Felt compelled to write a few words on his passing since he was a favourite actor of mine and has been for as long as i can remember. Won't post the link, but here's what I had to say:
I hardly know where to start when recalling the career of the man. From his physically demanding and emotionally devastating performance as John Merick in David Lynch's The Elephant Man to his brief but iconic portrayal of tyrant-dictator Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta, John Hurt has been responsible for a great many of cinemas most memorable characters. He has worked playful wonders with shlock genre material (Roger Corman's Frankenstein Unbound), brought much needed gravitas to fantastical landscapes (Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy series), quietly overwhelmed us with very few words (Michael Radford's 1984), shone a harsh light on the plight of the mistreated (The Naked Civil Servant) or simply provided an engaging voice to guide us through the minds of villains (Perfume: Story of a Murderer). I could go on forever with mention of his roles in The Proposition, Harry Potter, Doctor Who and more. His filmography offers an embarrassment of riches! John Hurt was a man of many talents, who constantly broke through genre barriers to become a legend of the screen. And of these great many memorable and entertaining roles the one that I suspect will be recalled most is his turn as Kane in Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror classic, Alien. And for damn good reason.
After the release of Star Wars, Hollywood was in a frenzy to find the next science-fiction epic to rocket them to millions. During that time a script entitled "Alien" by little known writers Dan O' Bannon and Ronald Shusset fell onto the desk of producing partners Walter Hill and David Giler. The immediate reaction was unfavourable. David Giler described the script as 'terrible' while Walter Hill stated he 'didn't think much of it' in an interview with Film International. However both of them agreed that 'it did have this one sensational scene'. A scene of such horror that it would continue to resonate with audiences over thirty years later. A scene that entirely hinged on the excellence and bravura of an outstanding John Hurt. It would be unwise to recount it in light of this news, but I feel it must be acknowledged that the scene's legendary status is in no small part due to the actor at it's centre. Sure, a great deal of technical wizardry provided ample shock and disgust, but John Hurt sold us tangible terror. A fear that grounded this sci-fi in a feeling of real-world horror. In that moment John Hurt played an enormous part in elevating this once 'terrible' script to the level of a genuine classic (one of many in his endlessly impressive oeuvre).
Goodbye, John Hurt. You will be missed.