William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor.
He studied at the Juilliard School and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt's film debut was in Ken Russell's science-fiction feature Altered States, released in 1980, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. In 1981, he had a leading role in the neo-noir Body Heat, co-starring Kathleen Turner. His 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 (1985), which he won; Children of a Lesser God (1986), and Broadcast News (1987). During this time he also starred in The Big Chill (1983), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Alice (1990), and One True Thing (1998).
Hurt earned his fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in David Cronenberg's crime thriller A History of Violence (2005). His later character roles include A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), The Village (2004), Syriana (2005), The Good Shepherd (2006), Mr. Brooks (2007), Into the Wild (2007), The Yellow Handkerchief (2008), and Robin Hood (2010). In 2008, he portrayed Thaddeus Ross in The Incredible Hulk, a role he reprised in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films until his final appearance in Black Widow (2021).
Hurt's various television projects included the FX legal drama Damages, which earned him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. In 2011, he portrayed Henry Paulson in the HBO movie Too Big to Fail and received another Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.
On stage, Hurt appeared in off-Broadway productions including Henry V, Fifth of July, Richard II and A Midsummer Night's Dream; and made his Broadway debut in David Rabe's dark comedy Hurlyburly, 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).
