John Hurt

 was a human actor who appeared in a film titled Alien. A memorable scene involved an alien creature bursting out of his character's chest. Toshiko Sato compared the body of a dead soldier with his heart ripped out to "that bit in Alien where that thing bursts out of John Hurt". (TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts)

Behind the scenes
John Hurt the actor has not only been referenced in the Doctor Who universe, but he also played an unknown incarnation of the Doctor in TV: The Name of the Doctor.

Born 22 January 1940, John Hurt is one of the few -nominated actors to appear in Doctor Who, and the only Oscar-nominated actor to play the Doctor. He is the oldest actor to play the Doctor, beating William Hartnell by more than 15 years, and also the first actor to play the Doctor in the revived series to be born before the original series was first broadcast.

He is known for various iconic roles such as Winston Smith in the 1984 film version of ', and for his award-winning performance as Quentin Crisp in the TV series '. Hurt also appeared in ' alongside Derek Jacobi, and, more recently, in three of the Harry Potter movies as Garrick Ollivander, ', ', and provided the voice of the dragon in the BBC series '.

Hurt's appearance in the film Alien was as Kane, the character who is central to the infamous "chest-bursting" scene, regarded as one of the most famous scenes in science fiction cinema. As such, it has been referenced in more than just Doctor Who, including Steven Moffat's earlier series . Hurt also parodied the scene himself in .

Hurt's Oscar nominations came for Best Supporting Actor for 1978's ' and for Best Actor for 1980's '. Retroactively, he was the first Doctor Who actor to be so nominated.