Born: 22nd January 1940 (as John Vincent Hurt)
Died: 25th January 2017 (aged 77 years)
Episodes Broadcast: 2013

John Hurt was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Although his mother was an amateur actress, she discouraged her children from the trade. Nonetheless, when the nine-year-old Hurt was away at boarding school, he discovered a passion for performance after appearing on stage in The Blue Bird. He stayed involved in amateur dramatics throughout his schooling but, to placate his parents, he enrolled at Grimsby Art School and later Saint Martin's School of Art to train as an art teacher. With his girlfriend's encouragement, however, Hurt applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, to which he won a scholarship in 1960.

Hurt made his television debut the following year, appearing on consecutive evenings in Drama 61 and Probation Officer. His first movie arrived in 1962, in the form of the university melodrama The Wild And The Willing. The same year, Hurt married actress Annette Robertson, but they divorced in 1964. His reputation as an actor began to climb with a prominent part in 1966's acclaimed A Man For All Seasons, after which 1969's Sinful Davey provided Hurt with an early starring role. In the interim, he began a lengthy relationship with model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot.

Hurt became a science-fiction icon as Kane, the astronaut who died when an extra-terrestrial burst out of his chest in Alien

It was during the Seventies that Hurt became a household name, by virtue of starring roles in the television serials The Naked Civil Servant -- overseen by Doctor Who's first producer, Verity Lambert -- and I, Claudius. He then secured an Academy Award nomination for 1978's Midnight Express, and became a science-fiction icon as Kane, the astronaut who died when an extra-terrestrial burst out of his chest in the 1979 classic Alien. At the same time, Hurt was increasingly in demand for voice work, including the 1978 animated films Watership Down and The Lord Of The Rings. He rounded off the Seventies as the star of the television mini-series Crime And Punishment; a still from the Dostoevsky adaptation would later be used to represent the newly-regenerated War Doctor in the 2013 Doctor Who mini-episode, The Night Of The Doctor.

The Eighties dawned with Hurt's second Oscar nomination, this time for David Lynch's The Elephant Man. Subsequent movies included Heaven's Gate, Nineteen Eight-Four, and a cameo in Mel Brooks' science-fiction spoof Spaceballs. He also voiced the villainous Horned King in Walt Disney's animated feature The Black Cauldron. On television, he was the eponymous host of Jim Henson's The Storyteller. Sadly, Volpeliere-Pierrot died in a horseback riding accident in 1983. The following year, Hurt married actress Donna Peacock, but their relationship ended in 1990, the same year that production assistant Joan Dalton became his third wife.

Amongst Hurt's credits during the Nineties were the movies King Ralph, Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, Rob Roy and Contact, while occasional television work included Red Fox. He and Dalton divorced in 1996, but not before they had sons Alexander and Nicolas. Hurt tackled a number of genre projects after the turn of the century, including Hellboy and its sequel, V For Vendetta, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, and a recurring role as wandmaker Ollivander in the Harry Potter movies. He also appeared in the critically-lauded Captain Corelli's Mandolin, while An Englishman In New York saw him reprise his iconic role of Quentin Crisp from The Naked Civil Servant. Having become disillusioned with television, he appeared on the small screen only rarely, but he continued to lend his voice to shows like Merlin. In 2004, Hurt was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He married for a fourth and final time in 2005, to producer Anwen Rees-Meyers.

Hurt was coaxed back to television to play the hitherto-unrevealed War Doctor for Doctor Who's 50th anniversary

Hurt's movies during the early 2010s included the espionage drama Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the science-fiction thriller Snowpiercer. In 2013, he was coaxed back to television to play the War Doctor, a hitherto unrevealed incarnation of the Doctor, for Doctor Who's fiftieth anniversary. He was glimpsed at the end of the season finale, The Name Of The Doctor, before joining the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, and the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant, in the celebratory special The Day Of The Doctor. He soon reprised the character for Big Finish Productions, starting with 2015's Only The Monstrous.

The same year, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his tremendous body of work; sadly, he was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Hurt continued working, including an appearance in the Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie with Natalie Portman. Despite earlier indications that his cancer was in remission, Hurt died on January 25th, 2017, three days after his seventy-seventh birthday. His final movies -- My Name Is Lenny, That Good Night and Damascus Cover -- were released posthumously.