American actor William Hurt, known for his roles in films as popular as The Big Chill (Les Copains d’abord) and Oscar winner in 1986 for Kiss of the Spider Woman (for which he also won the interpretation prize at the Cannes Film Festival), died Sunday at the age of 71, US media reported. “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,” according to a statement from his son Will published by several media outlets. “He passed away peacefully, with his family, of natural causes,” the statement continued. Hurt built his reputation on his willingness to embody eccentric and unusual characters, like a Russian policeman in Gorky Park (1983), a wealthy and distant husband in Woody Allen’s Alice (1990), and a man with plans to build a machine that would benefit the blind in Wim Wenders’ At World’s End (1991). Russell in 1980. His appearance alongside Kathleen Turner in Body Heat in 1981 made him a sex symbol, before winning his Best Actor Oscar five years later. Subsequently, we will find him in Broadcast News or in the comedy with Harvey Keitel, Smoke. Shyamalan (The Village), David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), Robert de Niro (Reasons of State), Ridley Scott (Robin Hood) or even the French Julie Delpy (La Comtesse) and Sandrine Bonnaire (J’enrage his absence), before becoming an important character in the extended universe of Marvel, namely General Thunderbolt – first the villain of The Incredible Hulk, then a titular figure of authority that we will find in Civil War, the two last Avengers and recently, Black Widow. Born in Washington on March 20, 1950, he traveled the world during his childhood, accompanying his diplomat father. He studied theology before entering the prestigious Juilliard School of Art in New York. Despite his growing notoriety, William Hurt did not seem comfortable with the Hollywood lifestyle. He explained in an interview: “I’m not comfortable with all that. I’m not comfortable with the idea of walking on the red carpet in a tuxedo, and seeing all the women with their breasts lifted and all the men dressed as penguins.” His private life, however, was very Hollywood. He had married then-newbie actress Mary Beth Supinger and followed her to London, but divorced when they returned to New York. He had a child with ballet dancer Sandra Jennings, two more from another marriage, and a daughter, Jeanne, with French actress Sandrine Bonnaire. In May 2018, the actor was diagnosed with cancer of the prostate at an incurable stage. His son, however, did not specify whether it was this disease that took him away.
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