Acting legend Sir John Hurt has died, aged 77

The British actor passed away on Friday, 27 January.

2017 is barely a month old and the film industry has lost one of the true greats in Sir John Hurt.

The actor, who was previously diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015, had battled through the disease and been given the all-clear, but was unwell in 2016 when he was forced to pull out of play ‘The Entertainer’. On the advice of doctors, Sir John withdrew from Kenneth Branagh’s production last July after a spell in hospital.

Hurt had over 200 acting credits to his name, beginning his career back in 1962 with television series ‘Z Cars’. In the six decades since, the star became one of Hollywood’s elite actors, with an eclectic career in film, TV, and stage; his voice became one of the few instantly recognisable sounds in film, even when voicing Hazel in 1978’s harrowing animation ‘Watership Down’.

Over the years, Hurt appeared in a number of big films, like Sir Ridley Scott’s ‘Alien’, which asserted him into horror folklore when that baby xenomorph famously burst out of his chest.

‘1984’, ‘The Elephant Man’, ‘Heaven’s Gate’, ‘Space Balls’, and ‘King Lear’ went on to establish him as one of the most talented actors working in the industry.

Even in the latter stages of his career he was active in a variety of movies, from the ‘Hellboy’ franchise, ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’, as well as both parts of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’.

2011’s ‘Tinker Tailor Solider Spy’ was one of his last great, memorable roles, and can also be seen in the recently released ‘Jackie’.

At present, Sir John has four films due for release: ‘The Good Night’, ‘Damascus Cover’, and ‘My Name is Lenny’, which are all in the completed stage, with ‘Darkest Hour’ in the process of filming.

R.I.P., Sir John, you shall be missed.