Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Sunday 18th January
- Kevin Costner - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Director
- Jason Segel - Born 1980, turns 35 - Actor | Producer | Writer
- John Boorman - Born 1933, turns 82 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Dave Bautista - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | WWE Wrestler
Monday 19th January
- Antoine Fuqua - Born 1966, turns 49 - Director | Producer
- Nash Edgerton - Born 1973, turns 42 - Stuntman | Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Editor
- Shawn Wyans - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Composer
- Logan Lerman - Born 1992, turns 23 - Actor
- Tippi Hedren - Born 1930, turns 85 - Actress
Tuesday 20th January
- David Lynch - Born 1946, turns 69 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Skeet Ulrich - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actor
- Tom Baker - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actor
Wednesday 21st January
- Martin Shaw - Born 1945, turns 70 - Actor | Producer
- Geena Davis - Born 1956, turns 59 - Actress | Producer
Thursday 22nd January
- Diane Lane - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actress
- Linda Blair - Born 1959, turns 56 - Actress
- Piper Laurie - Born 1932, turns 83 - Actress
- John Hurt - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor
- Matthew Newton - Born 1977, turns 38 - Actor | Writer | Director
- Jim Jarmusch - Born 1953, turns 62 - Director | Producer | Actor | Writer | Editor | Composer
Friday 23rd January
- Rutger Hauer - Born 1944, turns 71 - Actor | Producer
- Richard Roxburgh - Born 1962, turns 53 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
- Ewen Bremmer - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor
Saturday 24th January
- Ed Helms - Born 1974, turns 41 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director
- Natasha Kinski - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actress
John Vincent Hurt was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England to Phyllis Massey - an amateur actress and engineer, and Arnauld Herbert Hurt - a mathematician and later Anglican clergyman. He has an older brother - Michael - who became a Roman Catholic monk and writer and adopted the name Brother Anselm. He also has an adopted sister - Monica. He had a fairly strict upbringing - interestingly being forbidden to watch films at the nearby local cinema, or to mix with other children because they were considered beneath him, and the family.
He attended St. Michael's Preparatory School in Otford, Kent and from age 12 he moved to Christ's Hospital School in Lincoln where he boarded. By this time he had already developed a keen interest in acting as a possible career but his parents discouraged the notion leading him instead toward art teaching. Even his Headmaster dismissed the idea telling the young Hurt he would never stand a chance in such a profession! At 17 he joined Grimsby Art School, and two years later gained a scholarship to St. Martin's School of Art in London, and a year after that he secured another scholarship to RADA where he trained for two years.
In 1961 & '62 he successfully secured small parts in the television series 'Z-Cars' and 'Probation Officer' with his film debut coming in 1962's 'Young and Willing'. Throughout the fist half of the 60's he appeared in many theatrical plays whilst securing the occasional film and television role - first came 'The Contact', then 'This is my Street', and in 1966 'A Man for all Seasons' with an all star cast. Theatre continued to play and active role in his acting career, whilst at the same time carving a name for himself in television productions too.
It was probably his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in 1975's 'The Naked Civil Servant' that brought him to real prominence for his outstanding and very real performance as the troubled gay writer and raconteur which gained him a Best Actor Award at the British Academy Television Awards. This was followed up by his turn as Emperor Caligula in the much acclaimed television series 'I Claudius' with Derek Jacobi. Then came 'Midnight Express' in 1978 for which he won the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe, following this up a year later with Ridley Scott's 'Alien' stealing the film with the alien chest bursting scene which has been acclaimed as one of the most memorable scenes in film history.
After this came his turn as John Merrick opposite Anthony Hopkins in 'The Elephant Man' for which he won another BAFTA Award, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. He also starred in Michael Camino's much maligned and commercially disastrous 'Heaven's Gate', followed up by Sam Peckinpah's 'The Osterman Weekend', and then in the big screen adaptation of George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty Four'. In 1989, came 'Scandal' and then the likes of 'The Field' with Richard Harris, 'King Ralph' with John Goodman, 'Rob Roy' with Liam Neeson, 'Dead Man' with Johnny Depp, 'Wild Bill' with Jeff Bridges, 'Contact' with Jodie Foster, and 'All the Little Animals' with the young up & coming Christian Bale in the 1990's.
As the new century turned over the demand for his acting talents continued unabated with films including 'Lost Souls', 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', 'Hellboy' and its sequel 'Hellboy II', 'The Skeleton Key', 'The Proposition', 'V for Vendetta', 'The Oxford Murders', 'Outlander' and '44 inch Chest', not to mention his roles in two epic film franchises - 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull', and his turn as the wand maker in three 'Harry Potter' instalments.
Hurt has 196 acting credits to his name spread over six decades so far. He has 23 award wins and another thirteen nominations including two Academy Award nominations for 'The Elephant Man' and 'Midnight Express'; a Golden Globe win for 'Midnight Express' and a nomination for 'The Elephant Man'; and BAFTA wins for for 'The Naked Civil Servant', 'Midnight Express', 'The Elephant Man' and in 2012 the Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, plus four other nominations.
John Hurt - totally diverse character actor keeping it real in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Cops & Robbers, Westerns, Comedies, period pieces, drama, thrillers, horror, animation and children's fare; known for an instantly recognisable deep gravelly voice; and often playing authoritative characters or those racked by physical torment - you have left an indelible mark on the history of modern cinema that remains ongoing and that continues to keep us entertained and enthralled. Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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