John Hurt says receiving a special BAFTA trophy is “very moving”.

The actor will be honoured with the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award at the Orange British Academy Film Awards ceremony in February.

However, the iconic star remained humble as he didn’t expect the accolade.

The 72-year-old also revealed his wife has been helping him with his acceptance speech.

“I never even thought of hoping for it. Why this year? What’s happened? It’s very moving, I must admit,” he told British newspaper The Times. “I wrote a speech for this award and [my wife] she said, ‘I’ve seen you make a lot of speeches and you become someone else. I think for something like this you basically say thank you.’ Which is really good advice.”

The Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy star also spoke about his acting methods.

John has appeared alongside some of Hollywood’s most iconic stars such as Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton and Steven Spielberg.

His acting skills have earned him two Oscar wins and seven BAFTA trophies, yet he admits he keeps his research minimal.

“I don’t go for all this [adopts Californian drawl], ‘Have you done your research?’ If you can’t imaginatively get to grips with MI6 from the script, then there is something wrong with you,” he said.