William Hurt - Early life, Select Filmography

Actor, born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He studied at the Juilliard School in New York City, acted in a succession of off-Broadway productions, then worked in television before making his cinema debut in Altered States (1980). He won a Best Actor Oscar for Kiss of The Spiderwoman (1985), and Oscar nominations for Children Of A Lesser God (1986) and Broadcast News (1987). Frequently returning to the stage between films, he won an Obie and Theatre World Award for My Life (1977), a Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Hurlyburly (1984-5), and the 1988 Spencer Tracy Award. Later films include Trial By Jury (1993), Dark City (1998), and A History of Violence (2005, Best Supporting Actor nomination).

Early life

Born in Washington, D.C., Hurt is the stepson of Henry Luce III (the son of the founder of Time Magazine).

Often cast as an intellectual, Hurt has put this to good use in many films like Lost in Space and The Big Chill, but he is also effective in other kinds of roles like I Love You to Death, and David Cronenberg's psychological drama A History of Violence (2005), wherein, with less than 10 minutes of screen time, he plays the creepy mob boss Richie Cusack.

Hurt has most recently been seen in the mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes , in a piece entitled Battleground;

Select Filmography

Beautiful Ohio, 2007 The Legend of Sasquatch, 2006 - John Davis (Voice) Syriana, 2005 - Stan Goff A History of Violence, 2005 - Richie Cusack The King, 2005 - David The Village, 2004 - Edward Walker Dune, 2003 - Duke Leto Atreides Changing Lanes, 2002 - Doyle Gipson's AA Sponsor A.I. Artificial Intelligence, 2001 - Professor Allen Hobby One True Thing, 1998 - George Guldon Dark City, 1998 - Inspector Frank Bumstead Lost in Space, 1998 - Professor John Robinson Jane Eyre, 1996 - Rochester Michael, 1996 - Frank Quinlan A Couch in New York, 1996 - Henry Harriston Smoke, 1995 - Paul Benjamin The Doctor, 1991 - Dr. Jack MacKee Until the End of the World, 1991 - Sam Farber, alias Trevor McPhee Alice, 1990 - Doug Tate I Love You to Death, 1990 - Harlan James The Accidental Tourist, 1988 - Macon Leary Broadcast News 1987 - Tom Grunick Children of a Lesser God, 1986 - James Leeds Kiss of the Spider Woman, 1985 - Luis Alberto Molina Gorky Park, 1983 - Arkady Renko The Big Chill, 1983 - Nick Body Heat, 1981 Ned Racine Eyewitness, 1981 - Daryll Deever Altered States, 1980 - Professor Edward Jessup

Preceded by: F. Murray Abraham for Amadeus

Academy Award for Best Actor 1985 for Kiss of the Spider Woman

Succeeded by: Paul Newman for The Color of Money