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Atom Egoyan on John Hurt in Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape: "I had the great privilege to work with this astonishing actor."
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Sir John Hurt, who died this morning on January 28, 2017, was given the honor Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2004. In 2012, he received a BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award. Hurt won a Best Actor BAFTA for David Lynch's The Elephant Man, produced by Mel Brooks, and a Best Supporting Actor for Alan Parker's Midnight Express, screenplay by Oliver Stone.
When John Hurt was in New York for Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer, we also discussed his work with John Huston, Fred Zinnemann, Richard Fleischer, Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, the triad with Lars von Trier - Dogville - Manderlay - Melancholia, and the genius of Bertolt Brecht.
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John Hurt in New York
Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
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John Hurt is Neville Chamberlain in Joe Wright's upcoming Darkest Hour with Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill and Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI. The Second World War drama is scheduled to be released on November 24 in the US and December 29 in the UK.
Atom Egoyan directed Hurt in Krapp's Last Tape in the Beckett on Film series conceived by Michael Colgan, when he was the Artistic Director of Dublin's Gate Theatre.
"I had the great privilege to work with this astonishing actor on a film adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. It was one of the most intense shooting experiences I’ve ever had, working on this brilliant meditation on technology and memory as a 69 year old man listens to a tape recording of himself at age 39 reminiscing on a love affair from his twenties. Like the profound images conjured in this play, John’s unique presence and personality will continue to filter through our memories. He leaves a fantastic and enduring body of work, and a legion of friends and fans who loved him" - Atom Egoyan
John Hurt played the priest in Pablo Larraín's Jackie, starring Oscar Best Actress nominee Natalie Portman for her role as First Lady Jackie Kennedy with Peter Sarsgaard as Bobby Kennedy.
"John was invincible. Unflinching. Eternal." - Pablo Larraín
David Mackenzie, the director of the Oscar nominated Best Picture Hell Or High Water sent his remembrance.
"How sad. He truly was one of the best. When I was younger, his presence in a film was a guarantee it would be odd and interesting." - David Mackenzie
