Mr. Hurt was widely admired for his range, intensity and empathy in portraying the most complicated and outcast lives. David Lynch, who directed the actor in his title role in “The Elephant Man” (1980), once called Mr. Hurt “simply the greatest actor in the world.”Actor John Hurt in 2013. Yet he’s the most moving character in the film.”British actor John Hurt in 2011. Mr. Hurt played a Victorian-era Englishman whose grotesque disfigurement led to his years of exploitation as a carnival freak. “There isn’t such a thing as a regular guy,” Mr. Hurt once told the New York Times.

Source: Washington Post January 28, 2017 03:05 UTC