1940-01-22 Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, UK
Sir John Vincent Hurt (January 22, 1940 – January 25, 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. He came to prominence for his role as Richard Rich in the film A Man for All Seasons (1966) and gained BAFTA Award nominations for his portrayals of Timothy Evans in 10 Rillington Place (1971) and Quentin Crisp in television film The Naked Civil Servant (1975) – winning his first BAFTA for the latter. He played Caligula in the BBC TV series I, Claudius (1976). Hurt's performance in the prison drama Midnight Express (1978) brought him international renown and earned Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards, along with an Academy Award nomination. His BAFTA-nominated portrayal of astronaut Kane, in the science-fiction horror film Alien (1979), notably included a scene where an alien creature burst out of his chest, named by several publications as one of the most memorable moments in cinema history. Hurt earned his third competitive BAFTA, along with his second Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, as Joseph Merrick in David Lynch's biopic The Elephant Man (1980). Other significant roles during the 1980s included Bob Champion in biopic Champions (1984), Mr. Braddock in the Stephen Frears drama The Hit (1984), Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) and Stephen Ward in the drama depicting the Profumo affair, Scandal (1989). Hurt was again BAFTA-nominated for his work in Irish drama The Field (1990) and played the primary villain, James Graham, in the epic adventure Rob Roy (1995). His later films include the Harry Potter film series (2001–11), the Hellboy films (2004 and 2008), supernatural thriller The Skeleton Key (2005), western The Proposition (2005), political thriller V for Vendetta (2005), action adventure Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), sci-fi action Outlander (2008) and the Cold War espionage film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011). Hurt reprised his role as Quentin Crisp in An Englishman in New York (2009), which brought his seventh BAFTA nomination. He portrayed the War Doctor in the BBC TV series Doctor Who's 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor", in 2013. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors; director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in the world". He possessed what was described as the "most distinctive voice in Britain", likened by The Observer to "nicotine sieved through dirty, moonlit gravel". His voice acting career encompassed films such as Watership Down (1978), The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Plague Dogs (1982), The Black Cauldron (1985), Dogville (2003) and Planet Dinosaur (2011) as well as BBC TV series Merlin (2008–2012). In 2012, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement BAFTA Award, in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to cinema". He was knighted in 2015 for his services to drama.
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Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War | The Doctor (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2025-05-31 |
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Henry Fonda for President | Self (archive footage) | 2025-01-10 |
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Doctor Who at the Proms | The Doctor (War) (archive footage) | 2024-12-24 |
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Hannibal Hopkins et Sir Anthony | Self (archive footage) | 2021-03-26 |
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Ayamé | Narrator (voice) | 2018-08-25 |
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That Good Night | Ralph | 2017-06-20 |
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Damascus Cover | Miki | 2017-10-23 |
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The Journey | Harry Patterson | 2017-03-30 |
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My Name Is Lenny | Leslie Salmon | 2017-06-09 |
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The Final Reel | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2016-09-09 |
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The Pity of War: The Loves and Lives of the War Poets | Siegfried Sassoon | 2016-11-13 |
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Back to Utopia | Professor Peter Panludic (voice) | 2016-11-06 |
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Jackie | The Priest | 2016-12-02 |
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ChickLit | Francis Bonar | 2016-09-02 |
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Break | Jack | 2015-05-01 |
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Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure: The Movie | Sailor John (voice) | 2015-07-17 |
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Dmitri Shostakovich: A Man of Many Faces | Narator | 2015-01-01 |
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Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song | The Doctor (War) (picture) (uncredited) | 2015-12-25 |
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The Alchemist's Letter | The Alchemist (voice) | 2015-04-21 |
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נדיה: שם זמני | 347 | 2015-07-01 |
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Hercules | Cotys | 2014-07-23 |
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Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film | Self | 2014-08-25 |
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Wimbledon The Official Film 2014 | Narrator | 2014-08-31 |
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Hello: A Portrait Of Leslie Phillips | Self / Stephen Ward | 2013-09-28 |
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Swan Lake 3D - Live from the Mariinsky Theatre | The Voice of the Winter Palace / Self | 2013-06-06 |
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Only Lovers Left Alive | Christopher Marlowe | 2013-12-12 |
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The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot | The War Doctor (archive voice) | 2013-11-23 |
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Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty | Self | 2013-11-23 |
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Jayne Mansfield's Car | Kingsley Bedford | 2013-07-25 |
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The Day of the Doctor: Cinema Intro | The War Doctor | 2013-11-23 |
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Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor | The War Doctor | 2013-11-23 |
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설국열차 | Gilliam | 2013-08-01 |
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Muse of Fire | Self | 2013-09-26 |
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Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict | Narrator (voice) | 2013-05-24 |
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Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor | The War Doctor | 2013-11-14 |
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More Than Honey | Narrator (english voice) | 2012-08-11 |
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The Snipist | The Ministry | 2012-05-24 |
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Sightseers | Jerusalem Narrator (voice) (uncredited) | 2012-11-30 |
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Planet Dinosaur: Ultimate Killers | Narrator (voice) | 2012-08-19 |
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The Gruffalo's Child | The Owl (voice) | 2011-12-25 |
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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy | Control | 2011-09-16 |
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Immortals | Old Zeus | 2011-11-10 |
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23 Degrees, 5 Minutes | Professor Orit | 2011-07-09 |
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Melancholia | Dexter | 2011-05-26 |
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The Journey – Stories from the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa | Narrator | 2011-07-05 |
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The Confession | Priest | 2011-05-02 |
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In Love with Alma Cogan | MC | 2011-10-04 |
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On Borrowed Time | Self | 2011-11-04 |
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Sailcloth | Man | 2011-01-01 |
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Ollivander | 2011-07-12 |
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Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie | Carnak | 2010-12-10 |
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Whistle and I'll Come to You | James Parkin | 2010-12-24 |
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A Turtle's Tale: Sammy's Adventures | Grandpa Sammy (voice) | 2010-08-04 |
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Behind Jim Jarmusch | Self | 2010-09-01 |
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Ollivander | 2010-11-17 |
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Lou | Doyle | 2010-06-17 |
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Brighton Rock | Phil Corkery | 2010-09-13 |
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Love at First Sight | Arthur | 2010-11-16 |
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An Englishman in New York | Quentin Crisp | 2009-02-07 |
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Waking Sleeping Beauty | The Horned King (voice) (archive footage) | 2009-09-05 |
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The Limits of Control | Guitar | 2009-05-01 |
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Ballybrando | Self | 2009-12-12 |
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The Gruffalo | Owl (voice) | 2009-12-25 |
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Remembrance | Bellhop | 2009-09-06 |
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Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World | Self (archive footage) | 2009-12-15 |
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44 Inch Chest | Old Man Peanut | 2009-10-08 |
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Centenary: The BP Story | Narrator (voice) | 2009-02-01 |
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New York, I Love You | Bellhop | 2008-09-06 |
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Recount | Warren Christopher | 2008-05-25 |
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Professor Harold Oxley | 2008-05-21 |
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Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Trevor Bruttenholm | 2008-07-11 |
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Verity Lambert: Drama Queen | 2008-04-05 | |
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The Oxford Murders | Arthur Seldom | 2008-01-18 |
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Outlander | Rothgar | 2008-04-24 |
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Lezione ventuno | Mondrian Kilroy | 2008-10-17 |
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Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron | Professor Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm (voice) | 2007-03-10 |
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The 50 Greatest Television Dramas | Self | 2007-02-03 |
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Interview with John Hurt | Self | 2007-01-22 |
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Boxes | Fanny's father | 2007-06-06 |
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Shooting Dogs | Christopher | 2006-03-08 |
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V for Vendetta | Adam Sutler | 2006-02-23 |
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'V for Vendetta' Unmasked | Adam Sutler | 2006-03-16 |
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The Plot Against Harold Wilson | Narrator (voice) | 2006-03-16 |
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Whaledreamers | Self | 2006-06-15 |
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Perfume: The Story of a Murderer | Narrator (voice) | 2006-09-13 |
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Once Upon a Halloween | The Horned King (voice) (archive sound) | 2005-09-26 |
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Hiroshima | Narrator (voice) | 2005-08-06 |
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Manderlay | Narrator (voice) | 2005-06-03 |
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Short Order | Felix | 2005-01-01 |
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Valiant | Felix (voice) | 2005-03-25 |
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The Proposition | Jellon Lamb | 2005-10-06 |
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The Skeleton Key | Ben Devereaux | 2005-07-29 |
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Shadowing the Third Man | Narrator (voice) | 2004-10-11 |
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Pride | Harry (voice) | 2004-06-21 |
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Hellboy | Prof. Trevor 'Broom' Bruttenholm | 2004-04-02 |
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Alpha to Omega: Exposing 'The Osterman Weekend' | Self | 2004-01-22 |
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Hellboy: The Seeds of Creation | Self | 2004-07-27 |
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Meeting Che Guevara & the Man from Maybury Hill | Man from Maybury Hill | 2003-05-08 |
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Owning Mahowny | Victor Foss | 2003-05-02 |
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The Beast Within: Making Alien | Self | 2003-12-02 |
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Dogville | Narrator (voice) | 2003-05-21 |
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Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film | Self / Self - Krapp ("Krapp's Last Tape") | 2003-02-05 |
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Miranda | Christian | 2002-01-18 |
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I, Claudius: A Television Epic | Self | 2002-09-30 |
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The Twilight Hour: Visions of Ireland's Haunted Past | Self | 2002-10-18 |
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Crime and Punishment | Porfiry, chief investigator | 2002-06-01 |
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Bait | Jack Blake | 2002-02-20 |
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The Alien Saga | Narrator (voice) | 2002-11-13 |
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Tabloid | Vince | 2001-01-01 |
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Captain Corelli's Mandolin | Dr. Iannis | 2001-04-18 |
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Shaolin: Wheel of Life | Narrator (voice) | 2001-12-11 |
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The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed | Self | 2001-12-11 |
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The Hidden Wars of Desert Storm | Narrator (voice) | 2001-04-07 |
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Mr. Ollivander | 2001-11-16 |
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Krapp's Last Tape | Krapp | 2000-09-08 |
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The Tigger Movie | Narrator (voice) | 2000-02-11 |
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Lost Souls | Father Lareaux | 2000-10-13 |
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You're Dead... | Maitland | 1999-10-01 |
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New Blood | Alan White | 1999-11-15 |
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All the Little Animals | Mr. Summers | 1999-07-09 |
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If... Dog... Rabbit | Sean Cooper | 1999-09-29 |
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Night Train | Michael Poole | 1998-01-01 |
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The Climb | Chuck Langer | 1998-03-11 |
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The Commissioner | James morton | 1998-02-22 |
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Love and Death on Long Island | Giles De'Ath | 1998-07-03 |
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Contact | S. R. Hadden | 1997-07-11 |
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Bandyta | Babits | 1997-11-07 |
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Tender Loving Care | Dr. Turner | 1996-05-16 |
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Picture Windows: Two Nudes Bathing | Marquis de Prey | 1995-03-24 |
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Saigon Baby | Jack Lee | 1995-12-16 |
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Rob Roy | John Graham | 1995-04-13 |
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Wild Bill | Charley Prince | 1995-12-01 |
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On Jupiter | Narrator (voice) | 1995-08-03 |
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Dead Man | John Scholfield | 1995-12-23 |
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Even Cowgirls Get the Blues | The Countess | 1994-05-13 |
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The World of Jim Henson | The Storyteller (archive footage) | 1994-11-23 |
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Second Best | Uncle Turpin | 1994-09-30 |
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Great Moments in Aviation | Rex Goodyear | 1994-05-01 |
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Rabbit Ears - Aladdin and the Magic Lamp | Narrator (voice) | 1994-08-17 |
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Thumbelina | Mr. Mole (voice) | 1994-03-30 |
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Monolith | Villano | 1993-09-16 |
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L’œil qui ment | Anthony / Le Marquis | 1992-10-01 |
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Six Characters in Search of An Author | The Father | 1992-12-12 |
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Journey to Knock | Alfred | 1991-09-17 |
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I Dreamt I Woke Up | Boorman's Alter Ego | 1991-11-16 |
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Lapse of Memory | Conrad Farmer | 1991-06-02 |
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King Ralph | Lord Percival Graves | 1991-02-15 |
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Red Fox | Archie Carpenter | 1991-12-08 |
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The Field | Bird' O'Donnell | 1990-09-21 |
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Paul McCartney: From Rio to Liverpool | Narrator (voice) | 1990-12-17 |
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Resident Alien | Self - Actor | 1990-09-14 |
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Frankenstein Unbound | Dr. Joe Buchanan / Narrator (voice) | 1990-11-02 |
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Windprints | Charles Rutherford | 1990-06-29 |
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Who Bombed Birmingham? | Chris Mullin | 1990-04-22 |
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Jonathan Ross Presents for One Week Only: David Lynch | Self | 1990-10-19 |
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Romeo.Juliet | La Dame aux Chats / Mercutio (voice) | 1990-01-01 |
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David Macaulay: Pyramid | Khufu / Second French Explorer (voice) | 1989-01-04 |
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Little Sweetheart | Robert Burger | 1989-10-19 |
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Scandal | Stephen Ward | 1989-03-03 |
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The Storyteller: The Soldier and Death | The Storyteller | 1988-05-15 |
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The Storyteller: The Heartless Giant | The Storyteller | 1988-07-03 |
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Deadline | Granville Jones | 1988-01-01 |
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The Storyteller: The Luck Child | The Storyteller | 1988-05-29 |
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The Storyteller: A Story Short | The Storyteller | 1988-06-05 |
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The Storyteller: Hans My Hedgehog | The Storyteller | 1988-06-12 |
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La nuit Bengali | Lucien Metz | 1988-10-26 |
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The Storyteller: The True Bride | The Storyteller | 1988-07-10 |
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The Storyteller: Fearnot | The Storyteller | 1988-05-22 |
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The Hunting of the Snark | The Narrator (voice) | 1987-04-01 |
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Vincent | (voice) | 1987-10-08 |
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Spaceballs | John Hurt | 1987-06-24 |
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White Mischief | Gilbert Colville | 1987-11-10 |
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From the Hip | Douglas Benoit | 1987-02-06 |
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Aria | The Actor | 1987-05-27 |
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Iceberg | Narrator (voice) | 1987-01-01 |
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Frightmares | 1987-01-01 | |
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Monolith | Narrator (voice) | 1987-01-01 |
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Thames Film | 1986-08-10 | |
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Jake Speed | Syd | 1986-05-30 |
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Rocinante | Bill | 1986-11-01 |
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Live Aid | Self | 1985-07-13 |
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The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima | Narrator (voice) | 1985-12-03 |
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The Black Cauldron | The Horned King (voice) | 1985-07-24 |
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After Darkness | Peter Hunningford | 1985-02-01 |
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The Hit | Braddock | 1984-09-07 |
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Nineteen Eighty-Four | Winston Smith | 1984-11-09 |
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Sunset People | Self | 1984-03-03 |
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Success Is the Best Revenge | Dino Montecurva | 1984-05-26 |
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Champions | Bob Champion | 1984-04-20 |
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The Osterman Weekend | Lawrence Fassett | 1983-10-14 |
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King Lear | The Fool | 1983-04-03 |
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Paul McCartney - Take It Away | Self | 1982-06-21 |
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The Plague Dogs | Snitter (voice) | 1982-10-01 |
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Partners | Kerwin | 1982-04-30 |
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Night Crossing | Peter Strelzyk | 1982-02-05 |
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History of the World: Part I | Jesus - The Roman Empire | 1981-06-12 |
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Heaven's Gate | Billy Irvine | 1980-11-19 |
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The Elephant Man | John Merrick | 1980-10-09 |
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An Evening with Quentin Crisp | Host | 1980-01-01 |
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Alien | Kane | 1979-05-25 |
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The Lord of the Rings | Aragorn (voice) | 1978-11-15 |
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The Shout | Anthony Fielding | 1978-06-16 |
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Watership Down | Hazel (voice) | 1978-10-14 |
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Midnight Express | Max | 1978-08-31 |
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Spectre | Mitri Cyon | 1977-05-21 |
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Three Dangerous Ladies | Lt. George Simmonds | 1977-06-05 |
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The Disappearance | Atkinson | 1977-11-30 |
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East of Elephant Rock | Nash | 1977-10-22 |
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La linea del fiume | Chandler | 1976-05-06 |
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The Peddler | Alec Cassell | 1976-03-23 |
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The Ghoul | Tom Rawlings | 1975-06-01 |
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The Naked Civil Servant | Quentin Crisp | 1975-12-17 |
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Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs | Malcolm Scrawdyke | 1974-06-11 |
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The Playboy of the Western World | Christopher Mahon (Christy Mahon) | 1974-01-01 |
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The Pied Piper | Franz | 1972-12-27 |
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10 Rillington Place | Timothy Evans | 1971-02-10 |
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Green Julia | Bob | 1971-08-29 |
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Mr. Forbush and the Penguins | Richard Forbush | 1971-07-29 |
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In Search of Gregory | Daniel | 1969-11-01 |
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Sinful Davey | Davey Haggart | 1969-02-10 |
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Before Winter Comes | Lieutenant Pilkington | 1969-01-17 |
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The Sailor from Gibraltar | John | 1967-01-01 |
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A Man for All Seasons | Richard Rich | 1966-12-13 |
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This Is My Street | Charlie | 1964-01-15 |
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The Wild and the Willing | Phil Corbett | 1962-10-16 |
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The Storyteller: Sapsorrow | The Storyteller |
