William Hurt's starring roles in a series of critically acclaimed films garnered three consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor: Kiss of the Spider Woman, which he won; Children of a Lesser God, and Broadcast News.
32 Facts About William Hurt
2.
William Hurt earned his fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in David Cronenberg's crime thriller A History of Violence.
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William Hurt was born on March 20,1950, in Washington, DC, to Claire Isabel, who worked for Time Inc.
4.
William Hurt's parents divorced and, in 1960, his mother married Henry Luce III, a son of publisher Henry Luce.
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William Hurt attended the Middlesex School, where he was vice-president of the Dramatics Club and had the lead role in several school plays.
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William Hurt 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.
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In 1979, Hurt played Hamlet under the direction of Marshall W Mason opposite Lindsay Crouse and Beatrice Straight.
8.
Kasdan and he became frequent collaborators: William Hurt co-starred in Kasdan's acclaimed comedy-dramas The Big Chill and The Accidental Tourist, 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.
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William Hurt appeared in the thriller Gorky Park opposite Lee Marvin.
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William Hurt received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Actor for his turn as a prisoner in Hector Babenco's drama Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1985.
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William Hurt received three additional Oscar nominations: Best Actor for Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News and Best Supporting Actor for A History of Violence.
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William Hurt received particular acclaim for his role in A History of Violence, where despite less than 10 minutes of screen time, he received an Academy Award nomination.
13.
In June 2007, Marvel Studios announced that William Hurt would portray General Thaddeus Ross in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk alongside Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, and Tim Roth.
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William Hurt reprised his role in four additional Marvel Cinematic Universe films: Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow.
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William 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.
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William Hurt was in the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in a piece titled Battleground.
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William Hurt appeared in the cast of Vanya, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon.
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In 2009, William Hurt became a series regular on the FX series Damages playing a corporate whistleblower opposite Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden.
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In September 2010, William 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.
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William Hurt starred as Captain Ahab in the 2011 television adaptation of Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.
21.
In 2018, William Hurt was cast as the lead in The Coldest Game, but after he was injured in an off-set accident, he was replaced by Bill Pullman.
22.
In one of his final roles, Hurt played opposite F Murray Abraham in a standalone episode of Mythic Quest in 2021.
23.
William 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.
24.
William Hurt was married to Mary Beth William Hurt from 1971 to 1982, and to Heidi Henderson from 1989 to 1993.
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William Hurt had four children: one with Sandra Jennings; two with Henderson; and one with French actress, film director, and screenwriter Sandrine Bonnaire.
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William Hurt was a private pilot and owner of a Beechcraft Bonanza.
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William Hurt was fluent in French and maintained a home outside Paris.
28.
William Hurt dated Marlee Matlin for one year, and they cohabited for two years.
29.
William Hurt accused Hurt of domestic abuse in the article.
30.
In May 2018, it was announced that William Hurt had terminal prostate cancer that had metastasized to his bones.
31.
William Hurt died from complications of the disease at home in Portland, Oregon, on March 13,2022, aged 71.
32.
Many paid tribute to William Hurt including Ben Stiller, Russell Crowe, John Goodman, Patton Oswalt, Albert Brooks, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jonathan Frakes, Mark Ruffalo, and Topher Grace.