Died Today (Jan. 27th): John Hurt (1940–2017)

John Hurt (1940–2017)

Born: January 22, 1940 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Died: January 27, 2017 (age 77)

(2011) I’m not interested in awards. I never have been. I don’t think they are important. Don’t get me wrong, if somebody gives me a prize, I thank them as gratefully as I know how, because it’s very nice to be given a prize. But I don’t think that awards ought to be sought. It encourages our business to be competitive in absolutely the wrong way. We’re not sportsmen; we’re not trying to come in first.

(2011, on The Elephant Man (1980)) It took 12 hours to apply the original makeup. I thought to myself, “They have actually found a way of making me not enjoy a film.” Christopher Tucker, who devised the makeup, applied it that first day and when he was done, I hobbled into the studio. I was in…