John Hurt – a unique voice and talent

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Actor John Hurt has died aged 77, after an illustrious six decade career, spanning films such as A Man for All Seasons, The Elephant Man, Midnight Express, 1984, and latterly the Harry Potters; and television hits like The Naked Civil Servant and I Claudius. He specialised in roles about misfits, victims of fate and eccentrics.

He was born 22 Jan 1940 5.30pm Shirebrook, England to an amateur actress mother and clergyman/teacher father, had a strict upbringing, was married four times with several other long relationships and for many years had a serious drink problem. A full but not easy life.

He had a 6th house, hard-working Sun Aquarius conjunct Mercury in late Capricorn, both in a bleak opposition to Pluto square a forced-to-be-self-reliant Saturn in Aries and Aries MC opposition North Node in Libra in the 4th. A settled home life and emotional commitment would not have been easy for him.

He also had an Earth Grand Trine of Uranus in the 10th in a creative trine to Neptune trine Mercury in Capricorn – perhaps one pointer to his resonantly gravelly voice. Luckily as a balance to what could have been a heavily depressive chart, he had Jupiter in Aries trine Pluto and conjunct Mars also in Aries, which would bounce him up and give him confidence. His Cancer Moon was square Jupiter and trine his 8th house Venus in Pisces, so he would enjoy women’s company.

His role as Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant first brought him to prominence. Crisp, born 25 Dec 1908, was a Capricorn Sun with his Moon conjunct Hurt’s Sun; an emphasised Saturn in Aries like Hurt; and Crisp’s Jupiter in Virgo trined Hurt’s 10th house Uranus, so a real connection. The Elephant Man, Joseph Merrick, born 1862, with a facial deformity which saw him kidnapped onto the freak show circuit, had a Leo Sun exactly on Hurt’s Ascendant; with his Neptune conjunct Hurt’s Jupiter and his Mars also in Aries – so another uncanny resonance.

John Hurt’s ‘actors’ 15th Harmonic is exceptionally marked with two Cardinal Grand Crosses of Sun, Pluto, Moon Mercury Neptune, and Mars, Saturn, Moon, Neptune.  With his talent he could draw on his own unhappiness to channel his characters.

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