Actor John Hurt
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-12-01/actor-john-hurt
![John Hurt in "Krapp's Last Tape." - Anthony Woods](http://thedianerehmshow.org/sites/thedianerehmshow.org/files/imagecache/620xH/images/headline/krapps.jpg "John Hurt in "Krapp's Last Tape." - Anthony Woods")
John Hurt in "Krapp's Last Tape."
Anthony Woods
John Hurt has spent much of his career playing misfits and outsiders. Although he’s known for his well worn face, he’s also known for his very distinctively rich voice. Hurt has appeared in over a hundred films in his five decades long career. He’s received acclaim and awards for such films as "1984," "The Elephant Man," and "Midnight Express." His work on the first and last "Harry Potter" as well as the "Hellboy" movies have brought him to a new audience. Hurt has also received acclaim for his work on the stage. He’s currently starring in a production of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape." A conversation with legendary British actor John Hurt
Guests
John Hurt
actor
Program Highlights
Legendary British actor John Hurt is known for a well-worn face and a distinctive rich voice. He's appeared in more than 100 films, among them "The Elephant Man," "Hellboy," "Love and Death on Long Island" and "Harry Potter." Hurt is also a star of the theater. He made his London stage debut in 1962. He has most recently appeared on stage in a production of Samuel Beckett's "Krapp's Last Tape" presented by the Shakespeare Theater Company in Washington, D.C., with the production moving to New York shortly.
At Home on Stage
Hurt first took to the stage at age 9, where he felt "absolutely infused" with an understanding that he was in the right place. He hasn't read all the reviews of his work during his long career, but he does remember a particularly negative one from The Daily Express for his performance during a Michael Codron play called "Little Malcolm and His Struggle Against the Eunuchs." Spurred on by drunk castmates, Hurt wrote a note to the writer that just said, "Whoops, Yours Sincerely, John Hurt." Weeks later, he received a note back from the writer that simply said, "Thank you for your short, but tedious, letter." Hurt sent a note back saying, "You Win."
Memorable Roles
Hurt's role as Merrick in "The Elephant Man" involved so many hours of makeup before he could even begin shooting that he feared for a while he had come in to a situation that would make him not enjoy acting for the first time. But the film's cast and crew, he said, were extraordinary, and he ended up having a great experience. In "Alien," Hurt said there was a myth that began somehow that the other actors didn't know what was going to happen. He said it was more a matter that they knew the alien was going to burst out of his chest, but they probably didn't know how bloody and excruciating the whole scene was going to be. In the days before CGI, the props experts came up with a way to have a fake lower half of Hurt's body, through which they actually pushed the alien.
The Voice
Guest host Susan Page told Hurt she'd recently read an interview Hurt had done with The Guardian in which the writer had described Hurt's voice as "nicotine sieved through dirty moonlit gravel." To Hurt, the voice is a major part of any actor's equipment. "I think you can create atmospheres with it," he said. "It's a musical instrument in a sense."
Favorites
One of Hurt's own favorite films was "Love and Death on Long Island" made by Richard Kwietniowski. "With the reviews that we got, I thought that it would've been much, much more successful than it actually was," he said. A method actor, Hurt said he almost passed on the recent BBC series "Caligula," but was persuaded by a friend to change his mind. "It was a stunning time, terrific case," he said.
You can read the full transcript here.
Comments
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Can't wait for this interview. We can always count on a delightful and intriguing performance and characterizations that consume us. Thank you,sir, for sharing your great talent with us.
I'm happy Sir John Hurt has such a distinctive voice, because he looks different in every film I've seen him in. I especially loved him in Rob Roy, but he was also deliciously evil in King Ralph and wonderfully disturbed in the last Indiana Jones film! Can he list a few performences where we get to see his wonderful face *and* he plays the hero?
Kimberly
I had a couple questions -- since I can't afford to see Mr. Hurt perform, email will have to do.
I wanted to know what Hurt thinks of Beckett's language, which is simple by design. I get the idea he wrote all his plays in foreign languages first, to get rid of the clever baggage educated folks might stick in there.
Next -- I've been told by French acquaintances that the title of this play in French, "La Derniere Bande" translates into something rather rude, and memories of Krapp's love life figure in the play. How did you approach this aspect of the play?
Thanks so much!
Andy White, Arlington Virginia
My first introduction and therefore a favorite was I Claudius... so very captivating and frightening, I couldn't stop watching. Thank you
My favorite John Hurt role was Caligula in the "I Claudius" series. Whenever I hear about some bizarre behavior by a celebrity or outrageous act by a politician, I always recall this character's succinct observation about society - "Aren't people awful."
In October 1979, I was a student travelling back to Ireland. I was sitting in Euston station waiting for the Holyhead train when I heard this very distinctive voice quietly conversing with someone. I recognized this voice. When I looked up it was John Hurt and a companion striding across the concourse. I was mesmerized by his voice; all other ambient noise seemed to drop away and there was just the sound of his voice and the sight of two people gliding out of view.
I'd like to know more about his voice training. Was it developed mainly while performing Shakespeare?
Mr. Hurt,
I was excited to see that you were today's guest. Your career is very interesting and diverse. Of all your roles I find that Jellon Lamb is the most intriguing. His character's depth is so open to further illumination I wonder if you ever voyage further into a character before, during, and after a role and how that impacts your portrayal of the character, especially Mr. Lamb (my favorite).
Thank you for your very good work, sir. All the best,
Martin
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
We saw Tuesday's performance and thought it was electrifying. When I see Krapp's Last Tape, I remember the tape recordings, the regrets, the memories. But I always forget the opening business with the bananas. Can you speak about the opening of the play? I understand that discussing "what does that mean?" about Beckett is dangerous.
My introduction to Mr. Hurt's voice was his performance as Aragorn/Strider in Ralph Bakshi's rotoscope version of The Lord of the Rings. I did not realize it was him until I was old enough to read credits. I would ask if the considerable amount of physical action in that animation was also his, or was he just employed for voicework? How did his involvement come about and how did he enjoy the production, working with Bakshi, Anthony Daniels (Legolas)? As a young person I watched this film an uncountable number of times and can quote the whole thing, I still hear Mr. Hurt's voice when I re-read the books and always hoped that Mr. Bakshi woud pick up where he left off. Was more footage shot than just the half that was released?
Truly enjoing the conversation with Mr. Hurt. I sit possible to ask him about his work with Jim Henson during the making of The Story Teller series. Thank you
My two sons, August 9, and Dylan 12, absolutely love your voice in the British series Merlin. You were the voice of the dragon, dark, persuasive and paternal. Thank you exposing that generation to a brilliant voice.
Eliza from chapel hill
oh , too late, but his movie "Beyond the Gate" was/is the only one to give proper dignity to the Rwanda disaster
and his performance the depth of the human condition
I am disappointed you did not speak of his choices, which were almost all above the mark..........
and you spent to little time speaking of acting or film, wish you were more rigorous
in the short time allowed, and skipped the recordings, unless you were going to discuss the roles and what he did with the role
in all, it was liek listening to my neighbor talk about/to him, i expect more depth than that
I first saw him in what I believe was his first film appearance, Richard Rich, in A Man For All Seasons. Even then he was remarkable, turning a slimy character into a tragic, oddly appealing lost soul. His interpretation made Paul Scofield's reading of the "But for Wales" line, all the more heart-rending.
Hurt also was magnificent as Quentin Crisp in "The Naked Civil Servant."