Actor William Hurt has died at the age of 71. Became popular in the 1980s, Oscar winner and more recently able to speak to new generations by taking part in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the role of general Thaddeus Ross (The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avenger: Endgame And Black Widow).
For many, however, his name is inextricably linked to films such as Gorky Park (1983), The Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), which earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, Sons of a lesser god (1986) and Inside the news (1987) for which he received as many Oscar nominations. Among the other memorable roles played by Hurt is the one opposite Kathleen Turner in Warm shiver (1981) and participation in the cult film The big cold (1983).
He worked together with great directors, such as Woody Allen (in Alice1990), Wim Wenders (in Until the end of the world1991) and David Cronenberg (in A History of Violence, 2005, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor). The director was the first to believe in the actor Ken Russell who directed him in States of hallucination (1980), a debut that earned Hurt an immediate Golden Globe nomination for Best Emerging Actor.
Multifaceted interpreter, able to move between various genres, combining theater and television productions alongside cinema (see TV series Damages and the fim tv Too Big to Fail – the collapse of the giants). Popular but also shy and reserved, very careful to protect his privacy as he was able to reiterate in an interview with the NYT in 1989: I am a very reserved man and I have the right to be. The family confirmed the news of the death with a note:
It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar-winning actor, on March 13, 2022, a week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully in the family, of natural causes. The family is asking for privacy at this time.
