The Method: Constantly through that book it's all to do with stimulation of the imagination. And whatever method you may use, if that is what you are getting to I would find it completely praiseworthy. No two actors that I've come across work in exactly the same way. And often, like myself, don't work the same way on different parts. Each thing is totally individual. So it would be ridiculous of me to decry somebody's method of working if it is going to produce the kind of work that the method has produced from, say, Brando, Dean, to De Niro, Pacino and so on. Brilliant and fantastic performers. If that's their way, that's their way. It's not my way. And perhaps there was a misunderstanding there that I was perhaps saying that my way was right and that I didn't like the method because I thought it wasn't good. (The Guardian)

John Hurt is asked to explain his way: My springboard is always the script. Even if the script is taken from a novel, I often haven't read the novel, I didn't read, for instance, Crime and Punishment before I did it. I read it afterwards. And it was quite interesting to see how critics had managed to say how like I was to particular areas. It's amazing - it's in the eye of the beholder isn't it? The only way I can describe it is that I put everything I can into the mulberry of my mind and hope that it is going to ferment and make a decent wine. How that process happens, I'm sorry to tell you I can't describe. (The Guardian)

When John is told that, when acting in a comedy, he doesn't play for laughs in a very obvious way and always remains true to the emotions of the character, he replies: Well yes I hope so, I don't like it when you jump out of the play, out of the story or out or the character. For one, I don't think it's very funny when you do that. If you're making a film that is lifelike, the humour very often isn't something that the character considers to be amusing. And if it's going to be funny then I think you have to stay with it. (The Guardian)

When John Hurt is asked what has been his most emotionally draining role, either on stage or screen, he replies: Physically draining, I can understand. Emotionally draining, you never quite know, because if you're really into what doing at the time there is always, whether it be screen or stage, such a buzz of electricity that you really don't know whether you're drained or not and it isn't until you eat, or something like that, that you collapse with tiredness. But emotionally draining... I've got such a poor memory I go back very little distance. If you're doing it right, I don't think you can get more draining than Krapp's Last Tape, quite honestly. It's an extraordinarily intense little piece and you're on your own, too, which I've never done before. I say you're on your own, but of course you're not, you're with yourself but only 30 years younger. But only on tape, of course. But as I say, when you come off, you get such a buzz, such a thrill if it's gone well, that you forget about being emotionally drained. (The Guardian)

One of John's favorite Bette Midler joke is: "Did you see that thing that came out of John Hurt's stomach? It ran across the table like a penis on a skateboard screaming 'Mommy' all the way."

John Hurt is told that he's been often describe as a brave actor. Does he agree with that assessment? One is always shy of such compliments and also you think of knights in shining armour, don't you? Brave... I was actually having a conversation with friends of mine and I said: "They keep talking about brave. What have I done that's been particularly brave?" And they said: "You've got to remember that in Hollywood, if you are say, glamorous, and you scrape your hair back into a bun, that is considered to be brave." And the penny dropped. (The Guardian)

What does John Hurt look for when he's presented with a project? Well if I've got the luxury - it's a popular misconception that we have hundreds of scripts on our desks: "Well I think I'll do that one. I'll do that one later in the year" - that does not happen. It's an immensely competitive business and I can tell you the older you get the parts are fewer and the people who are proven performers are greater. It doesn't get any less competitive, that's not how it works. But if I have the luxury of saying the rent is paid and so on, what do I look for? First of all I would look to see if the script would stand the chance of succeeding on the level that it was intended. In other words, I don't mind if it be low comedy, I don't mind if it be an intellectual piece, and everything in between. So long as it stands a chance of working on that level. After that I'd look at the part and say: "Is there anything I can do personally with this? Is there anything I can offer this that is going to be individual, unusual and that I can hopefully make my own?" That's the most luxurious way of being able to choose, but generally speaking, I mark a script like an exam, and I try not to do anything under 50 per cent. Similarly with the part. And also film is a peculiar thing, parts don't necessarily read in script form anything like as well as they can do when it comes to materialising. Which is quite unlike the stage in that sense. I have one example of that in my own life, it was White Mischief. I'd just done 1984 with Mike Radford and I said to him: "What are you going to do next?" And he said: "Well, I'm going to do this film White Mischief, but I don't think there's anything for you in it." And I said: "Oh what a shame". And he said: "Well there's a small part if you're really interested." So I had a look at it and the part was Colvile and it wasn't a long part but it was a fantastic part for screen and I really would've been very sorry not to have done it. But you know, that's how things can happen, how they come about. I mean, you can take the same gamble and it doesn't work. (The Guardian)

When John is told that he's never done any low comedy, he replies: Only in the street.

Quentin [Crisp] did come down to the set once or twice in the Naked Civil Servant and I did have him up to my house a couple of Sundays and interesting it was too. I remember offering him a Guinness because I'd heard he liked Guinness and I'd seen the BBC documentary they made. So I offered him a Guinness and he said: "Yes." So I poured it out for him and we were talking and he finished it so I offered him another Guinness and he said: "Yes." So I poured him another and after that I said: "Would you like another Guinness?" and he said: "No thank you, anymore would be a debauch." It's those sort of delights for an actor. It said everything in a sense. (The Guardian)

How do I feel about Quentin now after all these years? He was an extremely enigmatic man, but that's part of Quentin in a sense, other than his crusade. I feel that Quentin is a rather remarkable and oblique philosopher, quite apart from the crusade of homosexuality that he was committed to. Indeed he transcended that in some of his writings and certainly in the show that he did. He became like an old fashioned philosopher and a rather oblique one with it. He never answered a question in the way that you expect a direct question to be answered. He had chosen to live in New York, and I remember he said: "I don't believe in abroad, I think everyone speaks English behind our backs." So he was a very untravelled man and after the success of the Civil Servant on both sides of the Atlantic he was asked to take his show to New York. He went over there and took one look at the Chelsea Hotel and said: "Home." And he loved New York and he stayed there and New York has loved him - the whole exhibitionistic approach to his life was immensely appreciated there. But anyway, I said: "What is it that actually made you come and live in New York?" and he said: "Well, three weeks is a meaningful relationship." They are very oblique truths and he wasn't afraid to be truthful and he wasn't afraid to live truthfully either. He's the only philosopher that I can think of who lived his philosophy. I think very highly of Quentin, I'm a great admirer of him as a person. Heaven alone knows if you could find the secrets of Quentin's life but in a sense he has less to be secretive about because he presented everything. Or seemingly so. (The Guardian)

When John Hurt is asked what misgivings he might have about becoming a director, he replies: Well I hope I won't tell everybody what to do. I've worked with a lot of people making their first film, including Jeremy Thomas, god knows how many films he had produced with fantastic amazing directors, and all I can say is that whatever misgivings he had at the beginning he became totally enthralled with the business of directing and by the end of it, as I remember, was saying: "I can't wait to start my next one." Decision making, more than anything. But it's my avowed intent to have it very well planned before I start. I'm a great believer in structure but because structure is there it doesn't move that it can't be changed, it's not indestructible, it can be moved about. But the structure must be there to start with, you must feel that it is there on paper. I don't know... don't get me thinking about that. (The Guardian)

John Hurt loves it when directors give him the green light to invent: When actors come and see me and I ask if they had a good day, and they say: "Well yes, but the director is just not directing me", I say: "Well, aren't you pleased?" Christ, what luxury. I don't know what they mean by that, I don't know if they think you turn up and you haven't done any thinking at all, that would be so strange. You must have something in your imagination that you are able to offer. And if the director says: "I like the way that's going," and fans the flames well that's fantastic, you feel a terrific freedom and then you start working with a director rather than for one and that's when things begin to cook, that's when things happen. (The Guardian)

John Hurt says that he's never had a conflict with a director that he didn't win: I remember there was a bit of a conflict with Herbie Wise when we'd come back from a rather good lunch. And we were feeling particularly inventive. And I climbed into bed with my grandmother and thought that this would really be a rather good idea and Herbie was getting slightly worried about how far it was going. But after many conversations and discussions we said, Well, how far can Caligula go?, and the answer was pretty much as far as possible. And so that did remain in it. No, I'm being facetious in a sense. When you're really working well with a director then you can be as outrageous as you like and so can he. And there's no worry about it. (The Guardian)

The drink was effecting me badly. I was feeling lousy especially in the morning. Now I have a much fuller time with people. The more you don’t drink the more you find you can be high as a kite anyway. I had huge fun when I was drinking. But towards the end I was not genuinely enjoying it. I drank mainly for enthusiasm, to prolong the night and the laughter and the conversation. (ShowBiz Ireland, Nov. 2000)

John didn't go to the cinema until he was about 12 years old: Films were somewhat frowned upon at that time. Theatre was fine. I was never allowed to go to Saturday morning pictures and things, and the cinema was right across the road from the Vicarage and I could see these lines of people going in there. With enormous envy I watched them go. Apart from anything else, which is a bit of a paradox really, it was considered to be common. Which coming from a clergyman, I would've thought was an odd attitude to take. And indeed I said so, at the age of 16, quite forcibly I believe. Never mind... So I didn't really see much cinema, and television was just coming in. I remember previous to being in Grimsby, there was another wonderful parish that my father sought out - he seemed to seek out the best possible parishes - was a place called Woodville in Derbyshire, in mining country, and there was a certain Mrs Fox-Robinson who had a television that was made of Bakelite, which had a tiny screen and to me was totally captivating, and at every possible opportunity I got to go down there I took to watch whatever it was. But it wasn't films, because they didn't show films then, it was just live performances and news. (...)That was my first introduction to a screen of any sort. And the first film I saw that I remember quite distinctly was Treasure Island - The Robert Newton one. (The Guardian)

(...)the first time [the makeup] was applied by Chris Tucker, it took 12 hours, and the rest of the cast and the crew were waiting around for this aberration to appear, and I finally did. I was terrified that there was going to be a laugh because no one had seen it. We had no idea when we were creating it whether or not it would be a successful image. Chris Tucker had endeavoured to do in six weeks what it would normally take six months to do. As it happens I kept persuading him because I could see that there was so much tension within the scenes with the disguise, that if we used the disguise until a third of the way through the movie, before you actually see the Elephant Man, we'd keep the suspense going a great deal better. And I knew that David Lynch, he'd deny this now, but I can tell you it's true, he wanted to see the elephant man almost in the second scene, in his full glory as it were, or lack of it. And I reckoned that I knew more dramatically than he did. I certainly didn't know more in terms of image on screen because I don't think anybody does, he is the greatest director in the world for image on screen - that's around at the minute - when he's at his best. But in terms of drama he sometimes does lose it, and I felt he did there, so that's how that came about. I was digressing again. (The Guardian)

John Hurt suggests that some of his past performances have been affected in a negative way by the lack of acting focus in big-budget pictures: I have had some mischievous moments where I should have behaved more responsably.

On meeting Harrison Ford: It was like having an audience with the Pope. (The Toronto Sun, June 5, 1999)

What John Hurt liked first and foremost about the project was: "It's the first film that Roger Corman, who is something of a legend, had made for 19 years. That was one thing. [And] I thought it was an extremely well-constructed film.

John made his film debut in The Wild and the Willing: the alliteration is really embarrassing. The Wild and the Willing. It was made by Jeremy Thomas' father, Ralph Thomas, produced by Betty Box, in black and white and it was for an English market. And that was 1962 and I was incredibly fortunate really. I left drama school and went straight into a 10-week film for which I was paid £75 I might say, which for 1962 was one heck of a lot of money. I also got Ian McShane the job, too. He got £100 a week. (...) [The role] came about through the late, great Julian Belfrage, who saw the film coming up. I'd already signed with him while I was at the Academy and he sent me along for an interview and they gave me a test, which I didn't think I'd get because I knew that Brian Bedford had also tested, and I thought he'd get it but he didn't, it went to me. And I think the reason, forgive me, Jeremy, if you're here, is that I was a little cheaper. (The Guardian)

John Hurt is asked if he has a preference for film acting or theatre acting: Well, I think there's kind of two general answers to that. One is that of Helen Mirren, who when asked that says, I always want to be doing the one that I'm not doing at the minute. Or you can be rather more boring and say I like doing the one that I am doing at the minute, and that is really the course that I would go. You don't even think about the other one. If I'm in theatre, cinema doesn't even cross my mind. Similarly when I'm making a film, theatre doesn't cross my mind. Actually I've just done something, a first in my life, having done Krapp's Last Tape on stage here this year we just filmed it at Ardmore Studios in Ireland. And I've never ever had to transpose a stage performance to a film performance and it's really not easy. Not easy to do at all. I'm not sure that I wish to do that again, because your thinking is somewhat blurred. (The Guardian)

Is the discipline he brings to the two kinds of acting very different? I always reckon that a lot of that is common sense, but you do have to plan a performance in a film and you do have to know where you are. A very good difference was put to me by Michael Colgan who is the artistic director of the Gate theatre in Dublin under whose auspices Krapp's Last Tape was done. And he said: "When you've found your theatrical muscle again, then you're really going to begin to enjoy it." And the thing is, it's rather like two different sports, you use two completely different sets of muscles, and it's the best analogy that I've come across. (The Guardian)

When John Hurt is asked if an actor has ever been an inspiration to him, he answers: An inspiration, yes. I just mentioned him, Alec Guinness, without question. Because Alec - though I never worked with him and only met him on a few occasions, because he was so shy and I was even shyer so hardly a word was spoken, but to me, what he so successfully did... he broke ground as a performer, he was able to marry the tradition of British theatre and take it to the cinema and make it work. And I think he was the first person really to play so many characters both leading and supporting and be visually different and thinking differently and realising that the camera can actually photograph thought. So he was a huge inspiration to me. (The Guardian)

Grinning: I turn up in Los Angeles every now and then, so I can get some big money films in order to finance my smaller money films. (The Toronto Sun, March 11, 1998)

What would John have done if his acting career hadn't worked out? Well I suppose I would've tried to be a rather poor painter and been teaching for the rest of my life. I really don't know. There's nothing else I can do. (The Guardian)

How does John Hurt think that the public would remember him if he died tomorrow? Several ways of answering that! If I were to die tomorrow I wouldn't think, for one. But if I thought now about dying tomorrow... it's quite interesting. There's no point in being big headed about this because even the greatest actors , like Olivier, basically the two things that were mentioned were Richard III and Wuthering Heights in almost every obituary. If I was to be as lucky as him and have two things mentioned, I suspect they would be the Naked Civil Servant and The Elephant Man and maybe in certain magazines it would be Alien, And then you'd all be able to forget about me. As Beckett said, it's not enough to die, one has to be forgotten as well. (The Guardian)

When John Hurt is asked if he has a natural sympathy for low-budget or independant film-making, he replies: Again, you don't realise it is happening at the time. If you get an offer to do a film and you get excited by it and then you realise that it's an independent film... and the time it didn't really worry me. Now of course I can look back. It's quite a dangerous career move to go wilfully on making films that may not find a distributor. It's quite a dangerous way to go. In which case I've lived quite a dangerous life. But I didn't live it in any knowledge of the danger at the time. It's just when you look back at it and you think: "Ah yes, really what I should've been doing is going over and licking a few arses in Hollywood," and getting on with it there. But I've never been very good at that and I've never been particularly good at selling myself in that way, thank God one has agents to do that, and I've been very fortunate in having good ones. And in the independent market, I have to say that more than in the studio market I've found things which have interested me and the sort of things that I like making.

At some point of his life, John Hurt developped a passion for Italian and French cinema: that was in the later period, [after I first came to London]. If you've read, and I'm sure you have, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, it's all sort of planned out there, isn't it? Using long words and things like that. I'm definitely into Antonioni, into Truffaut and all of the directors at that time. I used to go to the Camden Poly to see the French films and the more esoteric English films, and some of the French films, at the Academy in Oxford Street. I made a pilgrimage to see Jules et Jim on seven consecutive Sundays. And thinking at the time, of course, if they're making them in France now by the time I leave RADA they'll be making them here. Disappointment. (The Guardian)

Before filming began, he said: We [Brenda Blethyn and he) should make a reasonably odd and funny couple. But in the movie industry you can never be sure of anything. (The Toronto Sun, March 11, 1998)

Well, [my father, a clergyman) couldn't really disapprove [when I became an actor], could he? It's just the same business but a different department. So, he didn't disapprove. But I finally presented them with the fact that I was going to go to the Royal Academy because I'd got a scholarship. And I didn't tell them that until I knew I'd got a scholarship, because I'd used my grant at St Martin's School of Art and therefore I had to get a scholarship if I was going to have any other secondary education. And having presented them with the idea of having a scholarship then everything was fine. He was certainly not against the theatre, in fact, they were the ones that took me. My mother loved the theatre and they took me to the theatre, Cleethorpes Rep, on a regular basis, on a Tuesday evening (because it was cheaper). (The Guardian)

When told that he is good at playing victims, or more exactly, people who are frail and vulnerable, John replies: Yes, but a victim is basically the ultimate of most of us. There's a huge amount of vulnerability in everyone who sits in this room. And if you put them under the microscope of the drama, you'd soon find that vulnerability. It's one of the things that I think cinema deals with fantastically well because it deals with privacy and private moments that are material as opposed to literary and I think it's a wonderful medium to be able to understand more clearly the depths and secrecies of people's lives, and can lead to a great deal more understanding. (The Guardian)

Are there any characters left that John Hurt wants to do? I've no idea who I am anymore. But I cease to be confused about it and frankly I'm not too worried. I'm motoring towards the end of it all in the most enjoyable way and does it really matter if I know who I am? I don't think it does, no. I do see a flicker. (The Guardian) í SEE AMBITIONS

About the Romeo and Juliet version that he did with a cast almost completely feline:I am discovered, yes. That's one of those. That came up and I thought it was so bizarre. Armando Acosta was the American director. He had all sorts of people in Belgium who had all given up their salaries, I didn't know this at the time, and they decided to do a production almost entirely with cats. And he would go on at great length saying: "You just want to watch that cat. It is so stunning, the cat that is playing Juliet." And I thought, I've got to go in for this ride. This can't be anything but interesting. I didn't ask him why he wanted me to be a boatwoman. I think he felt that I had some great and deep spirituality that was going to fill the role. And obviously he felt that I was going to have some great affinity with cats, too. When one actually jumped off the boat and into the canal and wasn't able to swim, he found there was a very deep significance in this. I did suggest to him that it was not a good idea. It was a fairly extraordinary film.

John Hurt is an intuitive actor who scrupulously avoided reading any of the half-dozen books dealing with the Profumo affair. I am not an enormous believer in research being the be-all and end-all. I get suspicious when I read about actors spending six months in a clinic, say, in order to play someone who is sick. (The NYT, August 1989)

Oh, [science-fiction] is the most boring thing to do. It's endless waiting around. It's great fun for the director because he's playing with all the toys and he's going up and down and round tracks and then saying: "No, I don't think that works, let's put the track over here." By which stage you've been made up since eight in the morning and you don't do anything for one day, or the next day, or the next day, and it begins to get tedious. There's not a lot of acting to be done in it. I mean, there's a bit of "bleuaarghbrooohhh..." but that's one morning out of fourteen weeks. (The Guardian) í SEE ALIEN

The Guardian interview, Thursday April 27, 2000.
Read it online at: http://www.filmunlimited.co.uk/Guardian_NFT/interview/0,4479,214856,00.html