Sir John Hurt the BAFTA winning star of Alien, The Elephant Man, 1984, The Naked Civil Servant, Hellboy and countless other classic films and blockbuster franchises has sadly passed away at the age of 77 following ongoing battles with pancreatic cancer.

His wife Lady Anwen Hurt confirmed the news that the beloved actor passed away on Wednesday at his Norfolk home.

“John was the most sublime of actors and the most gentlemanly of gentlemen with the greatest of hearts and the most generosity of spirit. He touched all our lives with joy and magic and it will be a strange world without him.”

Tributes had quickly flowed on social media from collaborators, co-stars and fans. Among those to pay loving tribute are JK Rowling, Mel Brooks, Stephen Fry, Elijah Wood, Alfred Molina and Guillermo Del Toro.

For our part at Red Carpet News, we had the absolute honour and privilege of speaking of Sir John on many occasions over the past decade and can only join our voice to those singing his praises. His career was littered by mesmerising performances, each imbued with the unique charms afforded by his iconic husky toned gravitas. Both as a charismatic leading man and as a versatile character actor, Sir John Hurt represented the absolute epitome of British acting talent. Consistently compelling and diverse Sir John was just as comfortable lending his gifts to Shakespearean verse, gritty social drama or whimsical fantasy epics.

Though he will no doubt be most proudly celebrated for his award winning work in several key pieces of cinema, in truth his legacy of over 120 films and countless stage and television appearances  will mean so much to so very many people.