William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award for… William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA 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). Hurt was also Oscar-nominated for Children of a Lesser God (1986), 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). Hurt also 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, Hurt 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 was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
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