Matinee Classics - William Hurt Biography & Filmography

William Hurt ACTOR

WILLIAM HURT BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

William Hurt was born on March 20th, 1950 in Washington, District of Columbia, born to Claire Isabel and Alfred McChord Hurt. After his parents divorced his mother re-married and Hurt attended Middlesex school where he began to develop an interest in acting. After high school, he enrolled at Tufts University and briefly studied theology later switching his career goals to acting he went on to study at the Julliard School.

His career in entertainment began with working as a stage actor appearing in summer stock as well as off-Broadway and on Broadway productions such as, "Henry V", "5th of July", "Hamlet", "Uncle Vanya", "Richard II", "Hurlyburly" and "My Life".

In addition to gaining great exposure as a stage actor, he also appeared on the radio in such shows as, "The Grand Railway Bazaar", "The Shipping News" and he narrated a variety of documentaries.

He made his film debut in 1980 on, "Altered States" a role for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year. Other early career film roles included, "Body Heat" (1981), "The Big Chill" (1983) and "Gorky Park" (1983).

Throughout his career in the industry he has received four Academy Award nominations and a Best Supporting Actor accolade from the Los Angeles Film Critics circle and the New York Film Critics Circle. In 1988, Hurt was also awarded the first Spencer Tracy Award from UCLA.

Some of his more well known film roles have been in, "The Big Chill" (1983), "Kiss of the Spider Woman" (1985), "Children of a Lesser God" (1986), "Broadcast News" (1987) and "The Accidental Tourist" (1988).

As his career has progressed he has continued to appear in a number of highly successful films such as, "A History of Violence" (2005), "The Good Shepherd" (2006), "Mr. Brooks" (2007), "Into the Wild" (2007) and "Robin Hood" (2010).

Hurt has married twice, first to Mary Beth Hurt in 1971 and they remained together until 1982. He then wed Heidi Henderson in 1989 and they had two children before the marriage came to an end in 1993. He also has two other children from a previous relationship with Sandrine Bonnaire.

William Hurt currently resides in Oregon with his two sons and some of his more recent roles have been on the television series, "Damages" (2009) and "Moby Dick" (2011). He also starred in the television movie, "Too Big to Fail" (2011) and soon to release the films, "The Host", "Untitled Christian Camargo Project" and "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby" (2013).