William Hurt

• 1. Theology To The Stage

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  William McChord Hurt was born on the 20th of March 1950 in Washington D.C. His father worked for the United States Agency for International Development and his mother worked for Time Inc. He lived abroad with his parents in Lahore Mogadishu and Khartoum before they divorced. In 1960 his mother married Henry Luce III a son of publisher Henry Luce. Hurt attended the Middlesex School in Concord Massachusetts where he played lead roles in school plays. He graduated from there in 1968. A yearbook prediction stated you might even see him on Broadway. He then went to Tufts University to study theology. He graduated magna cum laude in 1972 but chose acting instead. He joined the Juilliard School Drama Division Group 5 from 1972 to 1976.

• 2. Breaking Into Stardom

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  Hurt began his career in stage productions at the Circle Repertory Company from 1977 to 1989. He won an Obie Award for his debut appearance in Corinne Jacker's My Life. He also won a 1978 Theatre World Award for performances in Fifth of July Ulysses in Traction and Lulu. In 1979 he played Hamlet under the direction of Marshall W. Mason opposite Lindsay Crouse and Beatrice Straight. His first major film role was in Altered States released in 1980. The science fiction film gained him wide recognition as an obsessed scientist. Lawrence Kasdan directed Body Heat in 1981 with Hurt playing Ned Racine opposite Kathleen Turner. This performance elevated him to stardom. Kasdan and Hurt became frequent collaborators. They worked together on The Big Chill in 1983 and The Accidental Tourist in 1988. Both films were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

• 3. Oscar Wins And Nominations

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  In 1985 Hector Babenco directed Kiss of the Spider Woman where Hurt played Luis Molina. He received the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role. The New York Times wrote that his performance was crafty at first carefully nurtured and finally stirring in profound unanticipated ways. He also received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for this same role. Hurt subsequently received Best Actor Oscar nominations for Children of a Lesser God in 1986. He played a speech teacher at a school for the deaf who falls for a deaf custodian. He received another nomination for Broadcast News in 1987. James L. Brooks directed this romantic comedy about a dim-witted television news anchor named Tom Grunick. Broadcast News came to be Hurt's most acclaimed film. It was included in the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress in 2018.

• 4. Supporting Roles Shift

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  In June 2007 Marvel Studios announced that Hurt would portray General Thaddeus Ross in The Incredible Hulk released in 2008. He reprised his role in four additional Marvel Cinematic Universe films including Captain America Civil War in 2016 Avengers Infinity War in 2018 Avengers Endgame in 2019 and Black Widow in 2021. Harrison Ford took over the role after Hurt's death in Captain America Brave New World scheduled for 2025. In 2009 Hurt became a series regular on Damages playing Daniel Purcell opposite Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden. He earned a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In September 2010 he played United States Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson in Too Big to Fail an HBO film based on Andrew Ross Sorkin's book. He later starred as Captain

• 5. Marvel And Television Work

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  Ahab in a 2011 television adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.

  Hurt was married to actress Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982 and to Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1993. He had four children with Sandra Jennings Heidi Henderson and Sandrine Bonnaire. In 1981 while still married to his first wife Hurt began a relationship with Sandra Jennings in Saratoga Springs New York. Jennings became pregnant in the spring of 1982. They relocated to South Carolina where common-law marriages were recognized. The couple never held a marriage ceremony and later separated. During her lawsuit against him she alleged that Hurt subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. His spokesperson denied that Hurt ever beat Jennings. Marlee Matlin wrote in her 2009 autobiography I'll Scream Later that their two-year relationship involved drug use and physical violence including rape. Hurt issued a statement apologizing for any pain he

• 6. Relationships And Controversies

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  caused but declined further comment through his agent.

  On the 13th of March 2022 William McChord Hurt died at his Portland Oregon home from metastatic prostate cancer. He was diagnosed with the disease in May 2018. This occurred just one week before his 72nd birthday. Many actors paid tribute to him after his passing. 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 all honored him. In one of his final roles Hurt played opposite F. Murray Abraham in a standalone episode of Mythic Quest in 2021. He had been set to appear in Pantheon and films The Fence Men of Granite and Edward Enderby before his death though he

• 7. Final Years And Death

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  ultimately only appeared in Pantheon.