Legendary British actor John Hurt dies aged 77

Veteran British actor Sir John Hurt, Oscar-nominated for his star turn in "The Elephant Man" and his supporting role in "Alien," has died after a protracted illness at the age of 77.

He breathed his last after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

Hurt had starred in more than 200 films and television series over a career spanning six decades. Hurt was a native of Derbyshire in England.

The actor revealed in 2015 that he was suffering from the early stages of pancreatic cancer and that he was receiving treatment.

Hurt said at the time of his cancer diagnosis that he intended to continue working.

He most recently starred in the Sundance TV crime series "The Last Panthers" and in the Oscar-nominated film "Jackie," playing a priest who consoled the newly widowed wife of slain US President John F. Kennedy.

He earned greater acclaim, and an Oscar nomination as best lead actor, for his portrayal of John Merrick in "The Elephant Man." With his face obscured behind the character's deformity, Hurt's performance rested largely on the expression of the actor's signature raspy voice.

Those two roles won him Britain's top film award, the BAFTA. He was bestowed an honorary BAFTA in 2012 for his outstanding contribution to cinema.

Hurt also played a key role in the original 1979 sci-fi thriller "Alien." His character, Kane, became the first member of a space merchant vessel crew to fall victim to a fearsome life form, encountered on a distant moon, when a deadly parasitic creature burst from his chest.