# William Hurt

William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. For his performances on stage and screen, he has received various awards including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film 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). He was Oscar-nominated for Children of a Lesser God (1986), and 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). He 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, he 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 received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best 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), 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. He had two brothers. With his father, he lived in Lahore, Mogadishu, and Khartoum. His parents divorced and, in 1960, his mother married Henry Luce III (1925–2005), a son of publisher Henry Luce.
Hurt attended the Middlesex School, 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, but turned instead to acting and joined the Juilliard School (Drama Division Group 5: 1972–1976).

## Career
### 1977–1989: Early roles and stardom

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 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."
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. After this run of prominent roles in the 1980s he appeared in the thriller Gorky Park (1983) opposite Lee Marvin.

### 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), The Village (2004), A History of Violence (2005), and Syriana (2005). 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), despite less than 10 minutes of screen time, he received an Academy Award nomination.
Other later film roles included Into the Wild (2007), Mr. Brooks (2007), 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.

### 2008–2021: MCU films and television work

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. Hurt reprised his role in four additional Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films: Captain America: Civil War (2016), 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). During this time he acted in Vantage Point (2008), The Yellow Handkerchief (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. Hurt was set to play Gregg Allman in the film Midnight Rider, but he left the production after an on-set accident.
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. 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.

## Personal life
### Marriages and relationships

Hurt was married to actress Mary Beth Hurt (née Supinger) from 1971 to 1982, 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.
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. Hurt and Jennings never held a marriage ceremony and later separated.
Hurt was a private pilot and owner of a Beechcraft Bonanza. He was fluent in French and maintained a home outside Paris.
Hurt and Marlee Matlin had a relationship for two years, which included living together.

### 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. During Jennings' lawsuit against Hurt, she alleged that Hurt subjected her to physical and verbal abuse. His spokesperson denied that Hurt ever beat Jennings.
In her 2009 autobiography I'll Scream Later, Marlee Matlin said that their relationship involved drug use and physical violence from Hurt, including a rape. 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."
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.

## Death and tributes

Hurt died on March 13, 2022, at his Portland, Oregon home from bone-metastasized terminal prostate cancer, with which he was diagnosed in May 2018. He was 71.
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.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Verna: USO Girl | Walter | Television movie |
| 1980 | Altered States | Eddie Jessup | |
| 1981 | Eyewitness | Daryll Deever | |
| 1981 | Body Heat | Ned Racine | |
| 1981 | All the Way Home | Jay Follet | Television movie |
| 1982 | A Midsummer's Night Dream | Oberon | Television movie |
| 1983 | The Big Chill | Nick | |
| 1983 | Gorky Park | Arkady Renko | |
| 1985 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Luis Molina | |
| 1986 | Children of a Lesser God | James | |
| 1987 | Broadcast News | Tom Grunick | |
| 1988 | A Time of Destiny | Martin Larraneta | |
| 1988 | The Accidental Tourist | Macon Leary | |
| 1990 | I Love You to Death | Harlan | |
| 1990 | Alice | Doug | |
| 1991 | The Doctor | Dr. Jack | |
| 1991 | Until the End of the World | Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee | |
| 1992 | The Plague | Dr. Bernard Rieux | |
| 1993 | Mr. Wonderful | Tom | |
| 1994 | Trial by Jury | Tommy Vesey | |
| 1994 | Second Best | Graham Holt | |
| 1995 | Smoke | Paul Benjamin | |
| 1996 | A Couch in New York | Henry Harriston | |
| 1996 | Michael | Frank Quinlan | |
| 1996 | Jane Eyre | Rochester | |
| 1997 | Loved | K.D. Dietrickson | |
| 1998 | Lost in Space | John Robinson | |
| 1998 | Dark City | Inspector Frank Bumstead | |
| 1998 | One True Thing | George Gulden | |
| 1999 | The 4th Floor | Greg Harrison | |
| 1999 | Sunshine | Andor Knorr | |
| 1999 | The Big Brass Ring | Blake | |
| 1999 | Do Not Disturb | Walter | a.k.a. Silent Witness |
| 1999 | The Alexander Technique | Himself | Instructional film |
| 2000 | Contaminated Man | David R. Whitman | |
| 2000 | The Miracle Maker | Jairus (voice) | |
| 2001 | Rare Birds | Restaurateur | |
| 2001 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Professor Allen Hobby | |
| 2001 | The Simian Line | Edward | |
| 2001 | The Flamingo Rising | Turner Knight | Television movie |
| 2001 | Varian's War | Varian Fry | Television movie |
| 2002 | Tuck Everlasting | Angus Tuck | |
| 2002 | Changing Lanes | Doyle's Sponsor | |
| 2002 | Nearest to Heaven | Matt | |
| 2002 | Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story | Robert Hanssen | Television movie |
| 2004 | The Blue Butterfly | Alan Osbourne | |
| 2004 | The Village | Edward Walker | |
| 2004 | Frankenstein | Professor Professor Waldman | Television movie |
| 2005 | Hunt for Justice | General Montimer | Television movie |
| 2005 | The King | David | |
| 2005 | A History of Violence | Richie Cusack | |
| 2005 | Neverwas | Dr. Peter Reed | |
| 2005 | Syriana | Stan | |
| 2006 | The Good Shepherd | CIA Director Philip Allen | |
| 2006 | The Legend of Sasquatch | John Davis (voice) | Also co-producer |
| 2007 | Mr. Brooks | Marshall | |
| 2007 | Beautiful Ohio | Simon Messerman | |
| 2007 | Noise | Mayor Schneer | |
| 2007 | Into the Wild | Walt McCandless | |
| 2008 | Vantage Point | President Ashton | |
| 2008 | The Incredible Hulk | Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | |
| 2009 | Endgame | Professor Willie Esterhuyse | Television movie |
| 2009 | The Countess | Gyorgy Thurzo | |
| 2010 | The Yellow Handkerchief | Brett | |
| 2010 | Robin Hood | William Marshal | |
| 2011 | The River Why | H20 | |
| 2011 | Late Bloomers | Adam | |
| 2011 | Hellgate | Warren Mills | |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Henry Paulson | Television movie |
| 2012 | J'enrage de son absence | Jacques | |
| 2013 | The Host | Jeb | |
| 2013 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby | Julian Rigby | |
| 2013 | Fire in the Blood | Narrator (voice) | Documentary |
| 2013 | Days and Nights | Herb | |
| 2013 | The Challenger Disaster | Richard Feynman | Television movie |
| 2014 | Winter's Tale | Isaac Penn | |
| 2014 | The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them | Julian Rigby | |
| 2016 | Race | Jeremiah Mahoney | |
| 2016 | Captain America: Civil War | Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | |
| 2018 | The Miracle Season | Ernie Found | |
| 2018 | Avengers: Infinity War | Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | |
| 2019 | Avengers: Endgame | Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | Cameo |
| 2019 | The Last Full Measure | Tom Tulley | |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross | |
| 2022 | The King's Daughter | Père La Chaise | Filmed in 2014 |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | The Best of Families | James Lathrop | Miniseries |
| 1977 | Kojak | Jake | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Episode: "Glenn Close/Gipsy Kings" |
| 1998 | Lee Marvin: A Personal Portrait by John Boorman | Himself | Documentary |
| 2000 | Frank Herbert's Dune | Duke Leto I Atreides | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | The King of Queens | Dr. Taber | Episode: "Shrink Wrap" |
| 2006 | Nightmares & Dreamscapes | Jason Renshaw | Episode: "Battleground" |
| 2009 | Damages | Daniel Purcell | 10 episodes |
| 2011 | Moby Dick | Captain Ahab | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Bonnie & Clyde | Frank Hamer | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Humans | George Millican | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Beowulf | Hrothgar | 5 episodes |
| 2016–21 | Goliath | Donald Cooperman | 14 episodes |
| 2018–20 | Condor | Bob Partridge | 11 episodes |
| 2021 | Mythic Quest | Peter Cromwell | Episode: "Peter" |
| 2022–23 | Pantheon | Stephen Holstrom (voice) | Posthumous release |

### Theater

| Year | Project | Role | Venue |
| 1975 | Henry V | Lord Scroop / 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 |
| 1984-85 | Hurlyburly | Eddie | Goodman Theatre, Chicago 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 (play) | Nikolai Alexeyevich Ivanov | Yale Repertory Theatre, CT |
| 1992 | Good | John Halder | American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco |
| 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 |
| 1989 | The Polar Express | Chris Van Allsburg | Narrator | Cassette tape only |
| 2001 | Hearts in Atlantis | Stephen King | Narrator | |
| 2006 | The Sun Also Rises | Ernest Hemingway | Narrator | |
| 2006 | Selected Shorts: Falling in Love | Various | Narrator | |
| 2009 | Selected Shorts: The William Hurt Collection | Various | Narrator | |
| 2014 | Consumed | David Cronenberg | Narrator | |
| 2016 | The Boy Who Drew Cats | Translated by Lafcadio Hearn | Narrator | Japanese fairy tale |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| 1980 | Golden Globe Award | Best New Actor – Motion Picture | Altered States | Nominated |
| 1985 | Academy Award | Best Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | BAFTA Award | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated |
| 1985 | Cannes Film Festival | Best Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | David di Donatello Award | Best Foreign Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | London Film Critics Circle Award | Actor of the Year | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | National Board of Review | Best Actor (tied with Raul Julia) | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Won |
| 1985 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated |
| 1985 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Actor | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Nominated |
| 1986 | Academy Award | Best Actor | Children of a Lesser God | Nominated |
| 1986 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Children of a Lesser God | Nominated |
| 1987 | Academy Award | Best Actor | Broadcast News | Nominated |
| 1987 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | Broadcast News | Nominated |
| 1987 | New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Actor | Broadcast News | Nominated |
| 1988 | Golden Horse Award | Best Foreign Actor | The Accidental Tourist | Won |
| 1991 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Best Actor | The Doctor | Nominated |
| 1999 | Genie Award | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Sunshine | Nominated |
| 2001 | Satellite Award | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Varian's War | Nominated |
| 2005 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Nominated |
| 2005 | Austin Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Won |
| 2005 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Won |
| 2005 | New York Film Critics Circle Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Won |
| 2005 | North Texas Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Won |
| 2005 | Utah Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Won |
| 2005 | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actor | A History of Violence | Nominated |
| 2007 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture | Into the Wild | Nominated |
| 2009 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Damages | Nominated |
| 2009 | Golden Globe Award | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Damages | Nominated |
| 2009 | Satellite Award | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Endgame | Nominated |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Too Big to Fail | Nominated |
| 2011 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Too Big to Fail | Nominated |
| 2011 | Satellite Award | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Too Big to Fail | Nominated |
| 2013 | Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Bonnie & Clyde | Nominated |