John Hurt dies aged 77 after battling pancreatic cancer and intestinal problems

British screen icon John Hurt has died at the age of 77, his agent has confirmed.

The Bafta-winning actor, whose career spanned six decades, had suffered with pancreatic cancer and an intestinal complaint during recent years.

He is survived by his wife of 12 years, film producer Anwen Rees-Myers, 51, and his sons Sasha, 16, and Nick, 13.

Sir John, who was knighted in 2015 for his services to drama, is best known for his roles in The Elephant Man and Alien.

He is also remembered for playing Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and wand merchant Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films.

More recently he played Father Richard McSorley in Jackie, the Oscar-nominated movie about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the widow of US president John F. Kennedy, currently in cinemas.

John was born on January 22, 1940, in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, the son of an engineer and a clergyman.

He developed a passion for acting after playing a girl in a production at St Michael's Preporatory School in Otford, Kent.

He later attended secondary school at Lincoln School in Lincoln, where his headmaster laughed in his face when he said he wanted to be an actor.

I can't say I worry about mortality, but it's impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. We're all just passing time

His parents also discouraged his acting ambitions, urging him to become an art teacher instead.

He eventually won a scholarship to study for an art teacher's diploma, but a year later won another for London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he trained for two years.

He went on to star in more than 120 films, making a name for himself in A Man For All Seasons in 1966, followed by the TV series I, Claudius in 1976 and the blockbuster movie Alien in 1979.

He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015, and given the all-clear later that year.

However last year he was forced to pull out of West End production The Entertainer due to poor health.

Despite his Christian upbringing, during his illness John claimed not to wish for an afterlife, saying in an interview with the Radio Times: "I hope I shall have the courage to say, 'Vroom! Here we go! Let's become different molecules!"

He added: "I can't say I worry about mortality, but it's impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. We're all just passing time."

Despite claiming in 2008 he had not drunk alcohol for several years Sir John Hurt led a colourful lifestyle for many years.

He drank with fellow stars including Peter O'Toole and Oliver Reed and often said his career track record "isn't bad for an old drunk".

But after claiming to living in near-total sobriety in later years he reportedly claimed in 2012: "Actors don't drink so much now.

"There were eight of us sitting around the other night and only one was drinking wine."

He later said: "All I want to do now is work, paint and spend as much time as possible with my wife."