As Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) he portrays a victim of a totalitarian society, with Big Brother as its head. In V for Vendetta (2005), he portrays the "Big Brother"-type leader "Chancellor Sutler".

Was offered the role of Dr. Yueh in Dune (1984).

26th January 2006, received an honorary Doctorate in Letters from the University of Hull, Yorkshire.

Has two sons with Dalton: Nicolas and Alexander.

He lived with Marie-Lise Volpeliere-Pierrot from 1967-83, when she was killed in a riding accident.

His mother opened a school at his father's vicarage when he was five.

Has worked with two Boromirs. In Ralph Bakshi's film The Lord of the Rings (1978), he played the voice of "Aragorn", opposite Michael Graham Cox (as "Boromir") who went on to reprise the role for BBC radio. He later appeared in The Field (1990) with Sean Bean, who played the role in Peter Jackson's adaptation.

Son of a clergyman.

Awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2004 Queen Elizabeth II's Birthday Honours List for services to Drama.

Father was a vicar in Derbyshire.

Is the youngest of three children.

He is an Associate of RADA.

His sister became a school teacher in Australia; his brother, the eldest child, a Roman Catholic monk.

Trained to become a painter at Grimsby Art School.

Was not the first choice for the role of "Kane" in Alien (1979). He was brought in on the second day of filming after Jon Finch, the original actor cast for the role, was diagnosed with a severe case of diabetes and taken to hospital.

Provided the voice of Aragorn in Ralph Bakshi's film The Lord of the Rings (1978). Though not a financial success, it sparked enough interest in Tolkien's works that the BBC decided to air its own adaptation, and it was also what inspired Peter Jackson to make his live-action films. Both subsequent adaptations featured Ian Holm, with whom Hurt appeared in Alien (1979).

Studied at RADA.

Spoofs his role from Alien (1979) in Spaceballs (1987).

An early passion for acting was triggered when he saw Alec Guinness play Fagin in the film Oliver Twist (1948).

He did the film History of the World: Part I (1981) because he had just gotten through doing two seriously dramatic films and said that he wanted to have fun and do a comedy.