Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2257693

William Hurt

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
William Hurt

William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, in addition to nominations for five Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

Hurt studied at the Juilliard School before his film debut, in Ken Russell's science-fiction feature Altered States (1980), for which he received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. He went on to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor playing a gay prisoner in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985). Hurt was also Oscar-nominated for Children of a Lesser God (1986), Broadcast News (1987), and A History of Violence (2005). He starred in films such as Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Alice (1990), One True Thing (1998), Syriana (2005), Mr. Brooks (2007), Into the Wild (2007), and The Yellow Handkerchief (2008). Hurt also portrayed Thaddeus Ross in five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films starting with The Incredible Hulk (2008) and concluding with Black Widow (2021).

On television, Hurt received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series playing a scientist in the FX legal drama Damages (2009) and for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his portrayal of Henry Paulson in the HBO movie Too Big to Fail (2011). He later acted in the legal drama series Goliath (2016–2021) and the thriller series Condor (2018–2020).

On stage, Hurt appeared in off-Broadway productions of William Shakespeare's Henry V (1975), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982) as well as Lanford Wilson's Fifth of July (1978). He made his Broadway debut in David Rabe's dark comedy Hurlyburly (1984) playing a Hollywood casting director, for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington, D.C., to Claire Isabel (née McGill; 1923–1971), who worked for Time Inc., and Alfred McChord Hurt (1910–1996), who worked for the United States Agency for International Development and the State Department. He had two brothers. With his father, he lived in Lahore, Mogadishu, and Khartoum. His parents divorced and, in 1960, his mother married Henry Luce III (1925–2005), a son of publisher Henry Luce.

Hurt attended the Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he was vice-president of the Dramatics Club and had the lead role in several school plays. He graduated in 1968 and his yearbook predicted, "you might even see him on Broadway." Hurt attended Tufts University and studied theology, graduating with a BA magna cum laude in 1972, but turned instead to acting and joined the Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 5: 1972–1976).

Hurt began his career in stage productions. From 1977 to 1989, he was a member of the acting company at Circle Repertory Company. He won an Obie Award for his debut appearance there in Corinne Jacker's My Life, and won a 1978 Theatre World Award for his performances in Fifth of July, Ulysses in Traction, and Lulu. In 1979, Hurt played Hamlet under the direction of Marshall W. Mason opposite Lindsay Crouse and Beatrice Straight. His first major film role was in the science-fiction film Altered States (1980), where his performance as an obsessed scientist gained him wide recognition. His performance opposite newcomer Kathleen Turner in Lawrence Kasdan's neo-noir film Body Heat (1981) elevated Hurt to stardom. Kasdan and he became frequent collaborators: Hurt co-starred in Kasdan's acclaimed comedy-dramas The Big Chill (1983) and The Accidental Tourist (1988), both of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and he later had a supporting role in the ensemble comedy I Love You to Death (1990). In 1983 he appeared in the thriller Gorky Park (1983) opposite Lee Marvin.

In the 1980s, Hurt received three consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, beginning with an Oscar win for his turn as a prisoner in Hector Babenco's drama Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1985. He also received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for this role. The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Hurt won a well-deserved best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for a performance that is crafty at first, carefully nurtured and finally stirring in profound, unanticipated ways... What starts out as a campy, facetious catalog of Hollywood trivia becomes an extraordinarily moving film about manhood, heroism and love."

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.