William Hurt

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William Hurt

Signing autographs at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival

Born

William M. Hurt
March 20, 1950 (age 58)
Washington, D.C

Spouse(s)

Mary Beth Hurt (1971-1981)
Heidi Henderson (1989-1992)

Awards won
Academy Awards
Best Actor 1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman
BAFTA Awards
Best Actor 1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman
Other Awards
Best Actor Award – Cannes Film Festival 1985 Kiss of the Spider Woman

William M. Hurt (born March 20, 1950) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.

1 Biography
2 Filmography
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Claire Isabel (née McGill), who worked at Time, Inc.,^[1] and Alfred McCord Hurt, who worked for the U.S. State Department. His mother re-married Henry Luce III (the son of the founder of Time Magazine) during Hurt's childhood. Hurt graduated from Middlesex School in 1968 where he was the Vice President of the Dramatics Club and had the lead role in several of the school plays. His high school yearbook predicted, "With characteristics such as these, you might even see him on Broadway." Hurt attended Tufts University and studied theology, but turned instead to acting and joined the Juilliard Drama School studying alongside Christopher Reeve.

[edit] Career

Hurt appeared first on stage, only later turning to film. His first major role was in the sci-fi hit Altered States (1980) which gave him wide recognition for playing an obsessed scientist. He received the Best Male Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1985. He received three additional Oscar nominations; one for Children of a Lesser God (1986), one for Broadcast News (1987) and one (for Best Supporting Actor) in A History Of Violence (2005).

Often cast as an intellectual, Hurt has put this to good use in many films like Lost in Space and The Big Chill, but he is also effective in other kinds of roles like I Love You to Death, and David Cronenberg's psychological drama A History of Violence (2005), wherein, with less than 10 minutes of screen time, he plays the creepy mob boss Richie Cusack. That same year, Hurt could be seen as a mysterious government operative in Stephen Gaghan's ensemble drama about the politics of Big Oil, Syriana.

Hurt has been seen in the mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes, in a piece entitled Battleground; he plays "Renshaw", a hitman who receives a package from the widow of a toymaker he killed, unaware of what is waiting inside for him. He is currently in the cast of "Vanya", an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya playing in the Artist Repertoire Theatre in Portland, Oregon.

He recently appeared in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild, the true story of Christopher McCandless and his life changing adventures.

Hurt will next appear as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in The Incredible Hulk alongside Edward Norton, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth.

William is not to be confused with fellow actor John Hurt.

[edit] Personal life

Fluent in French, Hurt maintains a home outside Paris. He has a daughter with actress Sandrine Bonnaire and a son, Alex, with Sandra Jennings, who sued Hurt in the late 1980s claiming she was his common-law wife. Hurt won the case. He was previously married to Mary Beth Hurt from 1971 to 1982 and lived with Marlee Matlin for a period of time in 1986. Hurt has two sons, named Sam and William Hurt, from his 1989-92 marriage to Heidi Henderson.

[edit] Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1978	Verna: U.S.O. Girl	Walter
1980	Altered States	Professor Edward Jessup	Nominated Golden Globe
1981	Eyewitness	Daryll Deever
1981	Body Heat	Ned Racine
1983	The Big Chill	Nick
1983	Gorky Park	Arkady Renko
1985	Kiss of the Spider Woman	Luis Alberto Molina	Academy Award for Best Actor; BAFTA Award; Nominated Golden Globe
1986	Children of a Lesser God	James Leeds	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor; Nominated Golden Globe
1987	Broadcast News	Tom Grunick	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actor; Nominated Golden Globe
1988	A Time of Destiny	Martin Larraneta
1988	The Accidental Tourist	Macon Leary
1990	I Love You to Death	Harlan James
1990	Alice	Doug Tate
1991	Until the End of the World	Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee
1991	The Doctor	Dr. Jack MacKee
1993	The Plague
1994	Second Best	Graham Holt
1995	Smoke	Paul Benjamin
1996	A Couch in New York	Henry Harriston
	Michael	Frank Quinlan
	Jane Eyre	Rochester
1998	Lost in Space	Professor John Robinson
	Dark City	Inspector Frank Bumstead
	One True Thing	George Guldon
1999	The 4th Floor	Greg Harrison
1999	Sunshine	Andor Knorr
2000	Contaminated Man	David R. Whitman
2000	Frank Herbert's Dune	Duke Leto Atreides
2001	Rare Birds	Restaurateur
	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Professor Allen Hobby
	The Simian Line	Edward
	Varian's War	Varian Fry
2002	King of Queens, episode 120: Shrink Wrap	Dr. Taber	TV
	Tuck Everlasting	Angus Tuck
	Changing Lanes	Doyle Gipson's AA Sponsor
	Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story	Robert Hanssen	TV
	Nearest to Heaven (Au Plus Près du Paradis)	Matt
2004	The Village	Edward Walker
2005	The King	David
	A History of Violence	Richie Cusack	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
	Syriana	Stan Goff
2006	The Good Shepherd	CIA Director Philip Allen
2006	The Legend of Sasquatch	John Davis (voice)	producer
2007	Mr. Brooks	Marshall
	Beautiful Ohio	Simon Messerman
	Noise	Mayor Schneer
	Into the Wild	Walt McCandless
2008	Vantage Point	President Ashton
	Yellow Handkerchief	TBA
	The Incredible Hulk	General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross	awaiting release
	Endgame	TBA	filming
2009	The Countess	Gyorgy Thurzo	post-production

Preceded by Alfredo Landa and Francisco Rabal for Los santos inocentes	Award for Best Actor – Cannes Film Festival 1985 for Kiss of the Spider Woman	Succeeded by Michel Blanc for Ménage and Bob Hoskins for Mona Lisa