JOHN HURT - dies aged 77 - R.I.P.

John Vincent Hurt - the acclaimed Actor of stage and screen died at his home in Cromer, Norfolk, England following a long battle with pancreatic cancer on 25th January - three days after his 77th Birthday.  Born in Chesterfield, Derby, England on 22nd January 1940 he had a strict upbringing by his amateur Actress mother Phyllis Massey and his Church of England clergyman father Arnould Herbert Hurt. They lived opposite a cinema but his parents forbade him from watching films there or mixing with other local children. He attended St. Michael's Preparatory School in Orford, Kent where his interest in acting was first sparked. He then attended Lincoln Grammar School, and at seventeen he enrolled in the Grimsby Art School to study art. Two years later he won a scholarship to Saint Martin's School of Art in London, and in 1960 he gained a scholarship to London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art where he studied for two years.

His first screen role came in the classic early '60's police drama series 'Z-Cars' on a single episode in 1962. His first big screen role came later that same year in 'Young and Willing' with his first major screen performance and perhaps his breakout role being as Richard Rich in the widely acclaimed 1966 film 'A Man For All Seasons' opposite Orson Welles, Robert Shaw, Leo McKern, Vanessa Redgrave and Susannah York. He gained his first BAFTA nomination for playing Timothy Evans, the man accused to be hanged for the murders committed by his landlord John Christie in the real life drama '10, Rillington Place' in 1971. A few years later in 1975, Hurt secured his first BAFTA win for his portrayal of Quentin Crisp in 'The Naked Civil Servant' - the story of the outrageous and flamboyant homosexual Crisp's coming of age and his elder years in a very conservative England. A year later, Hurt's prominence continued to rise with his acclaimed performance in the BBC television mini-series 'I, Claudius' as Roman Emperor Caligula opposite Derek Jacobi's Claudius.

1978 saw another award worthy performance in the Alan Parker Directed and Oliver Stone Written 'Midnight Express' about an American College student played by Brad Davis caught smuggling drugs out of Turkey where upon he is promptly thrown in a Turkish prison left to rot and subject to all manner of woes by his captors. The film garnered Hurt a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor and his first Academy Award nomination. 1979 saw his iconic role as Kane in Ridley Scott's 'Alien' - with his alien chest busting scene being hailed by many as one of the most memorable in cinematic history. For this role he gained another BAFTA Best Supporting Actor nomination. Continuing with his run of successes, 1980 saw Hurt play John Merrick in David Lynch's 'The Elephant Man'. This role secured the Actor another BAFTA win for Best Actor, as well as Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

1980 also saw a role in Michael Cimino's 'Heaven's Gate' hailed at one time as being the biggest commercial and critical flop in film making history, but since then time has been kinder to this production. 1984 saw the big screen adaptation of George Orwell's '1984', and in 1989 he starred in 'Scandal' the retelling of the Profumo Scandal of 1963 that shook the British Government at the time involving the Minister of War and an exotic dancer.

The mid-'90's saw historical dramas 'Rob Roy' with Liam Neeson, 'Dead Man' with Johnny Depp, 'Wild Bill' with Jeff Bridges and then Sci-Fi offering for Robert Zemeckis 'Contact' with Jodie Foster. The new decade saw 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' and his first appearance in the Harry Potter franchise as Mr. Ollivander - the wand maker in 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' - a role he would reprise in 'The Deathly Hallows : Parts 1 and 2'. In 2004 he starred in Guillermo del Toro's 'Hellboy' and again in its sequel 'Hellboy : The Golden Army' in 2008 and in the meantime there was the historical Australian Western 'The Proposition', then 'V for Vendetta'  and 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. More than thirty years after his award winning turn as Quentin Crisp he reprised the role for 2009's 'An Englishman in New York' for which he was again nominated for a BAFTA Award.

'44 Inch Chest', a remake of the classic Graham Greene novel 'Brighton Rock', the highly acclaimed big screen adaptation of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' and then swords and sandals epic 'Immortals', horror comedy 'Only Lovers Left Alive', the acclaimed Sci-Fi action drama 'Snowpiercer' and then another swords and sandals retelling of 'Hercules' closed out 2014. 'ChickLit', 'The Journey' and the recently released 'Jackie' bring us up to date. In the meantime, Hurt lent his considerable voice talents to numerous films, television programmes, and documentaries over the years including the likes of 'Watership Down' and 'Lord of the Rings' as Aragorn both in 1978, Disney's 'The Black Cauldron' in 1985, Disney's 'The Tigger Movie' in 2000, Lars von Trier's 'Dogville' in 2003 and 'Manderlay' in 2005 for the same Director, and 'Perfume : The Story of a Murderer' in 2006. There were also innumerable television series including 'The Storyteller', 'Watership Down', 'The Alan Clarke Diaries', 'The Confession', 'The Hollow Crown', 'Labyrinth', 'Merlin', 'Doctor Who' as The War Doctor, and 'The Last Panthers' most recently.

Still to come and due for release throughout 2017 are 'That Good Night' which is complete, 'Damascus Cover' currently in Post-Production, and so too is 'My Name Is Lenny' and currently filming is 'Darkest Hour' in which Hurt played former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, opposite Gary Oldman's Winston Churchill.

All up over seven decades Hurt had accumulated 204 acting credits to his name, garnered two Academy Award nominations for 'Midnight Express' and 'The Elephant Man', gained one Golden Globe Award for 'Midnight Express' and a nomination for 'The Elephant Man', and won three BAFTA Awards for 'The Naked Civil Servant', 'Midnight Express' and 'The Elephant Man' plus four other nominations and the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema in 2012.

He was married four times during his life - from 1962 until 1964 to Actress Annette Robertson; he lived with French model Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot from 1967 through until 1983 and who was tragically killed in a horse riding accident; from 1984 until 1990 to Donna Peacock; from 1990 to 1996 to Joan Dalton with whom he had two children - Alexander 'Sasha' John Vincent Hurt born in 1990, and Nicholas 'Nick' Hurt born in 1993. Following this he was in a seven year relationship with Sarah Owens a presenter and writer. From 2005 up until the time of his passing he was married to Producer and Casting Director Anwen Rees-Myers. Upon marrying Rees-Myers he gave up smoking and drinking, putting his alcoholic days behind him.

In 2004 Hurt was honoured in the Queen's New Years Honours List with a Knighthood for services to drama by being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He also received various other accolades including The John Hurt Centre in his name being an education and exhibition space in Cinema City, Norwich. He was also a patron of the Proteus Syndrome Foundation (thought to be the affliction that affected John Merrick - the character he portrayed in 'The Elephant Man'), and he was also a patron of Project Harar working with Ethiopian children affected by facial disfigurements.

John Hurt - so many memorable performances, so many iconic roles, such an instantly recognisable deep gravel like voice, in demand for 55+ years - your legacy will live on forever recorded on celluloid and in the hearts and minds of the movie going public and the television audiences you served so well right up until the time of your passing.

John Hurt - Rest In Peace
1940 - 2017.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 19th - 25th July 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Daniel Radcliffe does on 23rd July - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 26, at the end of this feature.

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 19th July

• Benedict Cumberbatch - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actor | Producer
• Abel Ferrara - Born 1951, turns 64 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Atom Egoyan - Born 1960, turns 55 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Actor

Monday 20th July

• Diana Rigg - Born 1938, turns 77 - Actress  
• Sandra Oh - Born 1971, turns 44 - Actress | Producer  

Tuesday 21st July

• Juno Temple - Born 1989, turns 26 - Actress  
• Josh Hartnett - Born 1978, turns 37 - Actor | Producer
• Jon Lovitz -  Born 1957, turns 58 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Norman Jewison - Born 1926, turns 89 - Director | Producer | Actor
• Ross Kemp - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
• Michael Caton - Born 1943, turns 72 - Actor

Wednesday 22nd July

• Willem Dafoe - Born 1955, turns 60 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• David Spade - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• John Leguizamo - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Albert Brooks - Born 1947, turns 68 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Danny Glover - Born 1946, turns 69 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Paul Schrader - Born 1946, turns 69 - Director | Writer
• Rhys Ifans - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actor | Producer
• Terence Stamp - Born 1938, turns 77 - Actor

Thursday 23rd July

• Daniel Radcliffe - Born 1989, turns 26 - Actor
• Ronny Cox - Born 1938, turns 77 - Actor 
• Woody Harrelson - Born 1961, turns 54 - Actor | Producer
• Marlon Wyans - Born 1972, turns 43 - Actor | Producer | Writer

Friday 24th July

• Gus Van Sant - Born 1952, turns 63 - Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Actor  
• Doug Liman - Born 1965, turns 50 - Director | Producer  
• Dan Hedaya - Born 1940, turns 75 - Actor
• Lynda Carter - Born 1951, turns 64 - Actress | Producer
• Rose Byrne - Born 1979, turns 36 - Actress
• Anna Paquin - Born 1982, turns 33 - Actress | Producer
• Jennifer Lopez - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actress | Producer | Singer | Songwriter

Saturday 25th July

•  Matt LeBlanc - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actor | Producer 
•  D. B. Woodside - Born 1969, turns 46 - Actor | Director | Writer 

Daniel Jacob Radcliffe was born in Fulham, West London, England. An only child of mother Marcia Gresham Jacobsen, a casting agent, and father Alan Radcliffe who hailed from an Irish Protestant background and worked as a literary agent. With Jewish, Polish, Russian, German and Irish blood coursing through his veins, both his parents acted as children, therefore influencing his career choice from an early age.

At age ten, the young Radcliffe made his acting debut in the BBC1 Charles Dickens small screen adaptation of 'David Copperfield' in which he played the part of the young DC. attending Sussex House School, and then the City of London School. his school years following the release of the first 'Harry Potter' instalment in 2001 saw his fellow students chiding him for his title role in the burgeoning franchise.

As his acting schedule on Potter became all consuming, his education occurred through on-set tutoring, and whilst he achieved strong grades in the Advances Subsidiary Level examinations in 2006 he decided to not proceed any further with his education thereafter because he knew he wanted to pursue acting and writing. The first film in the Harry Potter series 'The Philosopher's Stone' saw the young Actor receive a seven figure salary with that first film bringing in US$975M off a US$125M production budget.

'The Chamber of Secrets' came next in 2002 making US$878M at the global Box Office, followed in 2004 with 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' bringing in US$769M and being the lowest performing film in the franchise. The next year brought 'The Goblet of Fire' grossing US$896M, with 'The Order of the Phoenix' in 2007 recovering US$940M off its US$150M budget. This was followed by 'The Half Blood Prince' in 2009 which broke several Box Office records upon release bringing in US$933M and was hailed a commercial and critical success.



The final instalment in the seven book series was released over two films with 'The Deathly Hallows : Part 1' raking in US$950M in 2010, with the concluding segment in 2011 'The Deathly Hallows : Part 2' bringing home US$1.3B and now standing as the seventh highest grossing film of all time, and the most successful of the entire Potter series. Radcliffe is reported to have made a handsome minimum of US$80M from starting as harry Potter over eight films . . . not bad by the time he'd reached 22 years of age, whilst the film series in its entirety cost US$1.2B to bring to the big screen it delivered a return overall of US$7.7B.

In the meantime, Radcliffe's first big screen debut was in 2001's 'The Tailor of Panama' with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush , with 2997's 'The December Boys' his next film outside of the world of Harry Potter. Shot in South Australia with Jack Thompson, this was followed up that same year with 'My Boy Jack' with Carey Mulligan.

After the series wrapped up, he appeared in 'The Woman in Black' in 2012, then 'Kill Your Darlings' in 2013, 'Horns' in 2014 followed by 'The F Word' later that year. In between all of this there was a successful run on stage with his acclaimed turn in 'Equus' in the West End Gielgud Theatre then moving the production to Broadway eighteen months later. From there he appeared in the 2011 Broadway production of 'How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying' for which he and the Production received various Awards and nominations. Most recently he starred in the Noel Coward Theatre West End Production of 'The Cripple of Inishmaan' for which he won a Best Actor in a Play Award.

Movies in the works are 'Trainwreck' due out imminently, 'Now You See Me : The Second Act', 'Victor Frankenstein' and 'Game Changer' in post-production for 2016, 'Swiss Army Man' currently filming, and 'Brooklyn Bridge' and 'Young Americans' in pre-production. To date the 26 years old Actor has thirty acting credits on screen to his name, six on stage, and has garnered thirteen awards wins and 35 other nominations.

In 2008 Radcliffe admitted to suffering from a mild motor skills disorder and in 2010 he quit alcohol having become too reliant upon it. He is a self confessed atheist and describes himself as militant when religion impacts legislation. He is a published poet, is outspoken about homophobia, and supports various charities including Demelza House Children's Hospice, Candle for Care, Get Connected UK, and Broadway Care/Equity Fights AIDS.

Daniel Radcliffe - he has grown up on screen, has piercing blue eyes and boyish looks, is one of the worlds most recognised men and despite this remains grounded, approachable and relaxed about his fame, fortune and familiarity - Happy Birthday to you Daniel, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Pt. 2 : archive from 2nd August 2011.

All good things must come to an end and so it is with 'Potterdom' with the arrival of the final film instalment of the final book in this movie franchise that is derived from seven hugely successful J.K.Rowling books of one certain young up & coming wizard lad whose life we have charted through young adolescence to young adulthood. The first film hit our silver screens in 2001 with the arrival of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' as the young wet behind the ears wizard in training attends his first year at Hogwarts. Now ten years later Harry has grown up, has become more worldly wise in the ways of wizardry, has experienced more adventures and near death escapes than you could poke a wand at, and now the series culminates with 'HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS Part 2' which I saw last night.

Eight films, four different Directors, a combined production Budget of US$1.155B, a total combined global Box Office haul of US$7.723B, too many awards and accolades to mention and this final film ranks as the fourth most commercially successful film of all time with US$1.342 in worldwide take, and  a cast who largely remained unchanged for ten years. An amazing feat in film making history it would have to be said!

And so, with all that said 'HP7.2' is very much a fitting end to the long running saga. With a veritible who's who of the English stage & screen world every character comes out of the woodwork for a last hurrah and the film is richer for it. Continuing on from where Part 1 left off of course, Harry, Ron & Hermione have seen numerous adventures with the Death Eaters, the Snatchers and the Deathly Hallows as they follow their quest to destroy the Horcruxes which hold the secret to Voldemort's immortality.

As Harry's emotional connection to Voldemort steadily increases the necessity to destroy the Horcruxes becomes more real and more urgent. As the Dark Lord secures the Elder Wand and advances on Hogwarts for the final show down, the awesome threesome converge on their old school for one last time where they must stand against the foreboding dark forces who would rid the world of its rich wizarding heritage in favour of pure-blood domination of evil. Who will win the day . . . I think by now you know how this all plays out - together with the one-tenth of the global population who went to see this!

This final no holds barred offering is effects laden, has emotion, drama, action, spectacle and finally Ron & Hermione get it on amongst the Hogwarts rubble. Fast forwarding 19 years brings it full circle. All good stuff, and now it's time to watch them all back to back on your DVD or BluRay in the comfort of your own home.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 18th - 24th January 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week? John Hurt does, on 22nd January - check out the tribute to this Birthday Boy turning 75,  at the end of this feature.

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.

Turning 70 he continued very much in demand with roles in the remake of the classic Graham Green novel 'Brighton Rock', and then 'Melancholia', 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', 'Immortals', 'Only Lovers Left Alive', 'Snowpiercer' and most recently 'Hercules' opposite Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Throughout, his television series appearances have included 'Crime and Punishment' in 1979, 'The Storyteller' from 1987-88, 'Watership Down' from 1999-2000, 'The Alan Clark Diaries' from 2004-06, 'The Confession' in 2011, 'Merlin' from 2008-12, and 'Doctor Who' in 2013. He has lent his voice talents to numerous productions over the years including both 'Watership Down' and 'Lord of the Rings' in 1978, 'The Black Cauldron' in 1985, 'Thumbelina' in 1994, 'The Tigger Movie' in 2000, 'Dogville' in 2003, 'Valiant' in 2005, 'Charlie Countryman' in 2013 and more. He has 'AKA Nadia' and 'ChickLit' in post-production for a 2015 release, 'Tarzan' currently filming for 2016, and 'Damascus Cover' and 'The man who killed Don Quixote' currently in pre-production.

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.

He was married to Annette Robertson from 1962-64; to Donna Peacock from 1984-90; to Joan Dalton from 1990-96 with whom he has two sons - Alexander John Vincent (born 1990) and Nicholas (born 1993), and to Anwan Rees-Myers from 2005 to the present day. It was upon his fourth marriage that he gave up alcohol. He is a patron of the Proteus Syndrome Foundation (thought to be the condition his character John Merrick suffered from) and Project Harar to provide aid relief to Ethiopia for children with facial disfigurements and Derby QUAD - an arts centre in Derby. He was honoured with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2004, and Knighted by HRH Queen Elizabeth II in the 2015 New Years Honours List for services to drama.

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-