He was a human being

[tee rex]

John Hurt has died.

Each time a famous British actor passes on, it is now compulsory for the headlines to say "Harry Potter star ... ". Everyone from Maggie Smith to Michael Gambon will be described thus (see Alan Rickman etc previously). Even if they only had three lines. Apparently he did some other things too.

I haven't seen The Elephant Man for many years now, but I remember it as heart-rending, with Hurt and Hopkins both superb. Time to revisit ...

RIP.

[Sits]

He was a human being

I watched Alien last night and was thinking how young he looked. And he was, 39 when it was made. Only just turned 77 this month.

A big RIP.

[Gerontophile]

He was a human being

He will be much missed.

Fantastic in "The Naked Civil Servant", amongst so many others.

[Hot Pepsi]

He was a human being

I think of him in 1984.

[Snake Plissken]

He was a human being

And in a nice mirror image he ended up playing the Big Brother-esque dictator in V for Vendetta.

One of those actors who you could give a bad script to and he would make a silk purse out of his bit. And a wonderful voice, too.

[Beatle Simon]

He was a human being

My kids are still in bed at the moment, but as soon as they wake up, I'll tell them that the War Doctor has passed away.

[Satchmo Distel]

He was a human being

Heaven's Gate is the role I recall most, but of course he turned in at least half a dozen all-time classic performances such as The Elephant Man, Midnight Express, Scandal and The Naked Civil Servant

Also known for voiced-only contributions: AIDS public information ad (1985), Merlin TV series .

Alan Clark Diaries is a personal favourite.

Older roles that got him on the ladder: 10 Rillington Place, I Claudius. Curiously he was in two versions of Crime and Punishment, one as the killer and one as the inspector who wears him down.

Pedantic note: '1984' should always be 'Nineteen Eighty-Four.'