William Hurt is an award-winning American actor best known for his performance in the film Kiss of the Spider Woman. Born on March 20, 1950 in Washington, D.C, he studied at the Middlesex School, where he was the vice president of its Dramatics Club. He then went to Tufts University to study theology, but later left for the Juilliard Drama School in New York. His first professional appearances were on stage, only turning to film later, notably the 1980 film Altered States, where his role as an obsessed scientist gave him wide recognition.
In 1985, Hurt appeared in the Brazilian-American drama Kiss of a Spider Woman, alongside Ra?l Juli? and Sonia Braga. His performance earned him an Oscar and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, as well as similar honors from that year’s Cannes Film Festival. He received two more Oscar nominations in the 1980s: one for Children of a Lesser God in 1986 and another for Broadcast News in 1987.
William Hurt is often cast in films as an intellectual, notably in films like 1983’s The Big Chill, 1998’s Lost in Space and 2001’s A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. He also appeared in the 2004 horror The Village and the 2005 drama The King. In 2005, he played the creepy mob boss Richie Cusack in the film A History of Violence, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, he played the role of government operative Stan Goff in the political drama Syriana. In 2007, he played Walt McCandless in the acclaimed Sean Penn film Into the Wild. His most recent film was 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross.
Hurt also appeared in television programs, notably the miniseries Nightmares and Dreamscapes, an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel. He most recently joined the cast of acclaimed television drama Damages, taking on the role of Daniel Purcell, a new client of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), with whom had an intricate personal past with.
