The sad news of John Hurt’s passing naturally got us thinking about his long career—particularly his many wonderful contributions to science fiction and fantasy films (this is io9, after all). We’ve gathered our eight favorite John Hurt scifi and fantasy movie roles here.




1) Kane, Alien

2) John Hurt, Spaceballs

3) S.R. Hadden, Contact

4) The Horned King, The Black Cauldron

5) Winston, 1984

6) Ollivander, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

The character also appeared in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Part 2.


7) Professor Broom, Hellboy

The character also appeared in Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

8) Gilliam, Snowpiercer

Special thanks to readers who shared memories in the comments of yesterday’s obituary post. And if we’ve missed one of your favorites here, please share below!