William Hurt

2.1. Early life and family background

William McChord Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington, D.C.. His mother, Claire Isabel McGill (1923-1971), worked for Time Inc., while his father, Alfred McChord Hurt (1910-1996), was employed by the United States Agency for International Development and the State Department. William Hurt had two brothers. Due to his father's diplomatic work, he spent parts of his childhood living abroad in various international locations, including Lahore, Mogadishu, and Khartoum. Following his parents' divorce in 1960, his mother married Henry Luce III (1925-2005), the son of renowned publisher Henry Luce.

2.2. Education

Hurt attended the Middlesex School, a boarding school in Concord, Massachusetts. During his time there, he was actively involved in the Dramatics Club, serving as its vice-president and taking on lead roles in several school plays. He graduated in 1968, with his yearbook famously predicting that he might one day be seen on Broadway. He initially pursued higher education at Tufts University, where he studied theology. However, his interest soon shifted to acting, leading him to transfer and join the Drama Division of the Juilliard School in New York City, where he was part of "Group 5" from 1972 to 1976.

3.1. Marriages and relationships

Hurt was married twice. His first marriage was to actress Mary Beth Hurt (née Supinger), lasting from 1971 until their divorce in 1982. He later married Heidi Henderson in 1989; they divorced in 1993. Hurt had four children: one with Sandra Jennings, two with Heidi Henderson, and one with French actress, film director, and screenwriter Sandrine Bonnaire. He was fluent in French and maintained a home outside Paris. A private pilot, Hurt owned a Beechcraft Bonanza.

In 1981, while still married to Mary Beth Hurt, he began a relationship with Sandra Jennings in Saratoga Springs, New York. Jennings became pregnant in the spring of 1982. Following Hurt's divorce from Mary Beth, he and Jennings moved to South Carolina, a state that at the time recognized non-ceremonial common-law marriages. However, Hurt and Jennings never held a formal marriage ceremony and later separated. From 1985 to 1986, Hurt also had a two-year relationship with actress Marlee Matlin, during which they lived together.

3.2. Domestic violence allegations

William Hurt faced allegations of domestic violence from two former partners, which became public at different times in his life.

Sandra Jennings, who had a child with Hurt, sued him in New York, seeking recognition of their relationship as a common-law marriage under South Carolina law. Although the New York court ruled that their relationship did not qualify as a common-law marriage and found in Hurt's favor, Jennings alleged during the lawsuit that Hurt subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. Hurt's spokesperson denied these claims, stating that Hurt never beat Jennings.

In 2009, actress Marlee Matlin published her autobiography, I'll Scream Later, in which she detailed her two-year relationship with Hurt. She described the relationship as involving drug use and physical violence from Hurt, including an incident she described as rape. In response to these accusations, which were aired on CNN, Hurt's agent initially declined to comment. However, Hurt issued a statement the following day, saying, "My 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."

In a 2022 essay published in Variety after Hurt's death, author Donna Kaz, who dated Hurt from 1977 to 1980, also accused him of domestic abuse during their relationship.

4.1. Early career and stage work

William Hurt began his professional acting career in stage productions. From 1977 to 1989, he was a dedicated member of the acting company at the prestigious Circle Repertory Company in New York City. His debut performance there, in Corinne Jacker's My Life, earned him an Obie Award. In 1978, he received a Theatre World Award for his compelling performances in Fifth of July, Ulysses in Traction, and Lulu. A notable theatrical role in 1979 was his portrayal of Hamlet under the direction of Marshall W. Mason, where he starred opposite Lindsay Crouse and Beatrice Straight. He made his Broadway debut in 1984 in David Rabe's dark comedy Hurlyburly, playing a Hollywood casting director, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Other stage roles included William Shakespeare's Henry V (1975) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982).

His first major film role came in Ken Russell's 1980 science-fiction feature Altered States, where his performance as an obsessed scientist garnered him widespread recognition and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. The following year, his performance opposite newcomer Kathleen Turner in Lawrence Kasdan's acclaimed neo-noir film Body Heat solidified his status as a rising star, propelling him to stardom. Hurt and Kasdan frequently collaborated, with Hurt co-starring in Kasdan's successful comedy-dramas The Big Chill (1983) and The Accidental Tourist (1988), both of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. He later had a supporting role in Kasdan's ensemble comedy I Love You to Death (1990).

4.2. Stardom and major awards

The 1980s marked the peak of William Hurt's career, as he received three consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Actor, showcasing his talent and versatility. This era began with his Oscar win for his role as a gay prisoner, Luis Molina, in Hector Babenco's 1985 drama Kiss of the Spider Woman. For this critically acclaimed performance, he also received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The New York Times praised his work, noting, "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." He also earned the David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor, London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, National Board of Review Award for Best Actor (tied with Raul Julia), National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for this role.

Hurt followed this success with a Best Actor Oscar nomination in 1986 for his role as James Leeds, a speech teacher who falls in love with a deaf custodian, in Children of a Lesser God. The following year, he received another Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Tom Grunick, a dim-witted television news anchor, in James L. Brooks' romantic comedy Broadcast News. Broadcast News remains one of Hurt's most acclaimed films, recognized for its cultural significance with its inclusion in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 2018. During this period, he also appeared in the thriller Gorky Park (1983) alongside Lee Marvin.

4.3. Later career and diverse roles

From the 1990s onwards, William Hurt's career saw a shift towards more frequent supporting roles and a greater presence in television, showcasing his adaptability and willingness to take on diverse characters.

His notable film roles during this period included performances in Dark City (1998), Lost in Space (1998), Sunshine (1999), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) as Professor Allen Hobby, Tuck Everlasting (2002), The Village (2004), A History of Violence (2005), and Syriana (2005). He received his fourth career Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor, in 2006 for his impactful role as the powerful crime boss Richie Cusack in A History of Violence, despite having less than 10 minutes of screen time. Other later film roles included Into the Wild (2007), Mr. Brooks (2007), Vantage Point (2008), The Yellow Handkerchief (2008), and Robin Hood (2010).

Hurt also maintained a significant presence in television and theater. In 2000, he starred as Duke Leto Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel miniseries adaptation Frank Herbert's Dune, which became one of Syfy's highest-rated series. He appeared in the 2006 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in the dialogue-free piece titled Battleground. On stage, he acted in Vanya, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, at the Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, Oregon.

In June 2007, Marvel Studios announced that Hurt would portray General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, alongside Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, and Tim Roth. He reprised this role in four additional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films: Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019) (in a cameo), and Black Widow (2021) (also a cameo). The role of Ross was later taken over by Harrison Ford after Hurt's death, starting with Captain America: Brave New World (2025).

In 2009, Hurt became a series regular on the FX series Damages, playing a corporate whistleblower opposite Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden, earning a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In September 2010, he portrayed 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. He later acted in the legal drama series Goliath (2016-2021) as Donald Cooperman and the thriller series Condor (2018-2020) as Bob Partridge.

Hurt was set to play Gregg Allman in the film Midnight Rider, but he left the production after an on-set accident. In 2018, he was cast as the lead in The Coldest Game (2019), but was replaced by Bill Pullman after an off-set injury. In one of his final roles, Hurt appeared opposite F. Murray Abraham in a standalone episode of Mythic Quest in 2021. He had also been set to appear in the series Pantheon and films The Fence, Men of Granite, and Edward Enderby before his death, though he ultimately only appeared in Pantheon, released posthumously.

5.1. Film

5.2. Television

5.3. Theater

5.4. Other media

7.1. Cause of death and final days

William Hurt was diagnosed with bone-metastasized terminal prostate cancer in May 2018. He died from complications of the disease on March 13, 2022, at his home in Portland, Oregon, just one week before his 72nd birthday.

7.2. Tributes

Following his death, numerous actors and public figures paid tribute to William Hurt, acknowledging his significant contributions to the film industry. Tributes poured in from many of his former colleagues and admirers, 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.