John Hurt to Receive BAFTA Honor at Upcoming Film Nods

LONDON – John Hurt is to receive the outstanding British contribution to cinema award from the British Academy of Film And Television Arts during this year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards.

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The honorary award was introduced in 1978 and is presented annually in honor of Michael Balcon.

Previous recipients include Mike Leigh, Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jarman, Mary Selway, Ridley and Tony Scott, production house Working Title Films and Lewis Gilbert.

Last year’s recipient was the ‘Harry Potter’ series of films.

Hurt’s long resume boasts work luminaries including Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton and Steven Spielberg.

His turns include Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Rich in A Man For All Seasons – a film which won seven BAFTA Awards and six Academy Awards – and Max in Midnight Express, for which he won the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards for Best Supporting Actor.

Hurt also won the British Academy Television Award for best actor in 1976 for The Naked Civil Servant, which was followed by a British Academy Film Award for best actor for his outstanding performance in The Elephant Man in 1981.

BAFTA chairman Tim Corrie said: “John Hurt is an actor it is both exciting and fascinating to watch. He is one of a kind, an iconic figure, and BAFTA is delighted to take this opportunity to honor his outstanding contribution to cinema.”

The Orange British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday Feb. 12, hosted by Stephen Fry and broadcast on BBC One.