William McChord Hurt[1][2] (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.
Early life and education
Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington, D.C., to Claire Isabel (née McGill; 1923–1971),[3] 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.[1][4] He had two brothers.[5] With his father, he lived in Lahore, Mogadishu, and Khartoum.[6] His parents divorced and, in 1960, his mother married Henry Luce III (1925–2005), a son of publisher Henry Luce.[7]
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,[8][9] but turned instead to acting and joined the Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 5: 1972–1976).[10]
Career
1977–1989: Early roles and stardom
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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."[11]
Hurt subsequently received Best Actor Oscar nominations for playing a speech teacher at a school for the deaf who falls for a deaf custodian in Children of a Lesser God (1986) and for playing a dim-witted television news anchor in Broadcast News the following year. Broadcast News, a romantic comedy directed by James L. Brooks, would come to be Hurt's most acclaimed film, with an inclusion to the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in 2018.[12]
1990–2007: Career fluctuations
Hurt began to appear more frequently in supporting roles. Some of his notable roles include performances in Dark City (1998), Lost in Space (1998), Sunshine (1999), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Tuck Everlasting (2002),[13] The Village (2004), A History of Violence (2005), and Syriana (2005).[14] Hurt's fourth career Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, would come in 2006 for playing a powerful crime boss in A History of Violence (2005), though his role comprised less than 10 minutes of screen time.[15]
Other later film roles included Into the Wild (2007) and Mr. Brooks (2007).[16] Hurt had several roles in television and theater. Hurt starred in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries adaptation Frank Herbert's Dune in 2000, playing Duke Leto Atreides; it was one of Syfy's highest-rated series ever. He was in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in a piece titled Battleground (known for its complete lack of dialogue). He appeared in the cast of Vanya, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon.[17]
2008–2021: MCU films and television work
In June 2007, Marvel Studios announced that Hurt would portray General Thaddeus Ross in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk alongside Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, and Tim Roth.[18] Hurt reprised his role in four additional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films: Captain America: Civil War (2016),[19] Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Black Widow (2021). Harrison Ford would then take over the role of Ross after Hurt's death in Captain America: Brave New World (2025).[20] Hurt acted in Vantage Point and The Yellow Handkerchief (both 2008), and Robin Hood (2010).
In 2009, Hurt became a series regular on the FX series Damages playing a corporate whistleblower opposite Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden. For his role in the series, he earned a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In September 2010, Hurt played United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson in the HBO film Too Big to Fail, an adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin's book. He also starred as Captain Ahab in the 2011 television adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.[21] Hurt was set to play Gregg Allman in the film Midnight Rider, but he left the production after an on-set accident.[22][23]
In 2018, Hurt was cast as the lead in The Coldest Game (2019), but after he was injured in an off-set accident, he was replaced by Bill Pullman.[24] In one of his final roles, Hurt played opposite F. Murray Abraham in a standalone episode of Mythic Quest in 2021. Hurt had been set to appear in the series Pantheon and films The Fence, Men of Granite, and Edward Enderby before his death in March 2022, though he ultimately only appeared in Pantheon.[25][26]
Personal life
Marriages and relationships
Hurt was married to actress Mary Beth Hurt (née Supinger) from 1971 to 1982,[27] and to Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1993. Hurt had four children: one with Sandra Jennings; two with Henderson; and one with French actress, film director, and screenwriter Sandrine Bonnaire.[28]
In 1981, while he was still married, Hurt and Sandra Jennings began a relationship in Saratoga Springs, New York. Jennings became pregnant in the spring of 1982, which was followed by Hurt's divorce from Mary Beth, after which Hurt and Jennings relocated to South Carolina, a state that recognized non-ceremonial common-law marriages.[29] Hurt and Jennings never held a marriage ceremony and later separated.
Hurt was a private pilot and owner of a Beechcraft Bonanza.[30] He was fluent in French and maintained a home outside Paris.[28]
Hurt and Marlee Matlin had a relationship for two years, which included living together.[31]
Domestic violence allegations
Hurt's girlfriend Sandra Jennings sued Hurt in New York, seeking recognition of their relationship as a common-law marriage under South Carolina law. The New York court held that the relationship between Hurt and Jennings did not qualify as a common-law marriage under South Carolina law and found in Hurt's favor that no marriage existed.[29] During Jennings' lawsuit against Hurt, she alleged that Hurt subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. His spokesperson denied that Hurt ever beat Jennings.[32]
In her 2009 autobiography I'll Scream Later, Marlee Matlin said that their relationship involved drug use and physical violence from Hurt,[33] including a rape.[34] In response to the accusations aired on CNN on April 13, 2009, Hurt's agent declined to respond, but Hurt issued a statement the following day that his "own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives. Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we have both grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good."[35]
In a 2022 essay for Variety, after Hurt had died, author Donna Kaz wrote about dating Hurt in their twenties, from 1977 to 1980. She accused Hurt of domestic abuse in the article.[36]
Death and tributes
On March 13, 2022, a week before his 72nd birthday, Hurt died at his Portland, Oregon home from metastatic prostate cancer,[37][38][39] with which he was diagnosed in May 2018.[40]
Many actors paid tribute to Hurt, including Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, John Goodman, Patton Oswalt, Albert Brooks, Bryce Dallas Howard, Maria Bello, Jonathan Frakes, Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Garner, Jeremy Renner, and Topher Grace.[41][42]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | The Best of Families | James Lathrop | Miniseries | [45] |
| Kojak | Jake | 2 episodes | [45] | |
| 1978 | Verna: USO Girl | Walter | Television movie | [43] |
| 1981 | All the Way Home | Jay Follet | [43] | |
| 1982 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Oberon | [43] | |
| 1989 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Glenn Close/Gipsy Kings" | [55] |
| 1998 | Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman | Documentary | [43] | |
| 2000 | Frank Herbert's Dune | Duke Leto I Atreides[56] | 3 episodes | [43] |
| 2001 | The Flamingo Rising | Turner Knight | Television movie | [43] |
| Varian's War | Varian Fry | [43] | ||
| 2002 | The King of Queens | Dr. Taber | Episode: "Shrink Wrap" | [45] |
| Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Robert Hanssen | Television movie | [57] | |
| 2004 | Frankenstein | Professor Waldman | [43] | |
| 2005 | Hunt for Justice | General Montimer | [43] | |
| 2006 | Nightmares & Dreamscapes | Jason Renshaw | Episode: "Battleground" | [43] |
| 2009 | Endgame | Professor Willie Esterhuyse | Television movie | [43] |
| Damages | Daniel Purcell | 10 episodes | [43] | |
| 2011 | Moby Dick | Captain Ahab | 2 episodes | [43] |
| Too Big to Fail | Henry Paulson | Television movie | [58] | |
| 2013 | The Challenger Disaster | Richard Feynman | [59] | |
| Bonnie & Clyde | Frank Hamer | 2 episodes | [45] | |
| 2015 | Humans | George Millican | 7 episodes | [43] |
| 2016 | Beowulf | Hrothgar | 5 episodes | [43] |
| 2016–2021 | Goliath[60] | Donald Cooperman | 14 episodes | [54] |
| 2018–2020 | Condor | Bob Partridge[61] | 11 episodes | [54] |
| 2021 | Mythic Quest | Peter Cromwell | Episode: "Peter" | [62] |
| 2022–2023 | Pantheon | Stephen Holstrom (voice) | 8 episodes; posthumous release | [63] |
Theater
| Year | Project | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Henry V | Lord Scrope / Interpreter / Bates | Delacorte Theatre, The Public Theatre |
| 1978 | Fifth of July | Kenneth Talley Jr. | Sheridan Square Playhouse, Off-Broadway |
| 1981 | Childe Byron | Byron | Circle Repertory Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1982 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Oberon | Delacorte Theatre, The Public Theatre |
| 1984–1985 | Hurlyburly | Eddie | Goodman Theatre, Chicago Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway debut |
| 1989 | Beside Herself | Augie-Jake | Circle Repertory Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1990 | Love Letters | Andrew Makepeace Ladd III | Promenade Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1990 | Ivanov | Nikolai Alexeyevich Ivanov | Yale Repertory Theatre, CT |
| 1992 | Good | John Halder | American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco[64] |
| 2003 | Richard III | King Richard | Manitoba Theatre Centre |
| 2010 | Long Day's Journey into Night | James Tyrone | Sydney Theatre Company |
Video games
| Year | Game | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Incredible Hulk | Thaddeus Ross | Voice only |
Audiobooks
| Year | Book | Author | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | The Polar Express | Chris Van Allsburg | Narrator | Cassette tape only | [65][66] |
| 2001 | Hearts in Atlantis | Stephen King | [67] | ||
| 2006 | The Sun Also Rises | Ernest Hemingway | [68][69] | ||
| 2006 | Selected Shorts: Falling in Love | Various | [70] | ||
| 2009 | Selected Shorts: The William Hurt Collection | Various | [71] | ||
| 2014 | Consumed | David Cronenberg | [72] | ||
| 2016 | The Boy Who Drew Cats | Translated by Lafcadio Hearn | Japanese fairy tale | [73] |
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