AFP
LONDON
British actor John Hurt said on Tuesday he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but would keep working and was "more than optimistic" about his future.
"I have recently been diagnosed with early stage pancreatic cancer," the 75-year-old Hurt, who appeared in the cult film "Alien" and the Harry Potter series, said in a statement to Britain's Press Association. "I am undergoing treatment and am more than optimistic about a satisfactory outcome, as indeed is the medical team," said Hurt, who has been nominated twice for Oscars for "The Elephant Man" and "Midnight Express".
"I am continuing to focus on my professional commitments and will shortly be recording 'Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell' (one of life's small ironies!) for BBC Radio 4," he added. Hurt started his stage and film career in the 1960s and has received a Golden Globe and four Baftas, including a lifetime achievement award.
He was knighted last year for services to drama. In recent months, Hurt has been filming "The History of Love" with Gemma Arterton and Derek Jacobi and "Tarzan" with Samuel L. Jackson and Margot Robbie. In the Harry Potter films, Hurt played Garrick Ollivander, a genial magic wand seller. Hurt's been acting for more than five decades and is best known for his screen roles in "Alien," "The Elephant Man," "A Man for All Seasons" and "Midnight Express," among others.
Recently, he made a special guest appearance on the 50th anniversary show of the BBC sci-fi series "Doctor Who" and was a co-starring in a remake of "Tarzan," starring Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie, due out next summer. He's a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and was knighted last year for his services to drama.