John Hurt, who plays Ollivander in the Harry Potter films, was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement award at an international film festival.

The 70-year-old actor, who has starred in films such as Alien, The Elephant Man and Midnight Express, was given the Bradford International Film Festival (BIFF) accolade for work that has spanned over six decades. Fans gathered to watch the ceremony at the city’s National Media Museum with BIFF artistic director Tony Earnshaw. The presentation was followed by a screening of The Elephant Man.

Mr Earnshaw said: “John Hurt has been leading man, supporting player and scene-stealer. Always he has breathed vivid life into believable, plausible and credible characters, often against a backdrop of fancy, whimsy or plain bafflement. He appears in the final films in the Harry Potter franchise, thus enchanting an entirely new generation of admirers. It’s what going to the cinema is all about.”