Hurt received numerous accolades during his decades-long career, including four Academy Award nominations (one of which he won in 1985 for his performance in The Kiss of the Spider Woman) as well as three Golden Globes nods. While the celebrated actor became known as a leading man in the 1980s, he managed to charm his way into the hearts of younger generations for his portrayal of General Thaddeus E. Ross in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, a role which he reprised in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and, most recently, 2021’s Black Widow.

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Hurt’s son Will announced the sad news in a statement. “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, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes,” read the statement, per Variety. Despite being one of the most notable actors of his generation, Hurt was famously private. That aversion to Hollywood led him to turn down roles in several blockbuster films, including that of Paul Sheldon in 1990’s Misery and Dr. Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park. The actor didn’t even read the 1993 film’s script before rejecting the part, which ended up going to Sam Neill.

Although he passed on the opportunity to star in such a popular film, Hurt did work with Spielberg 2001’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence. In the science-fiction drama, Hurt played Professor Hobby, the scientist who created a child-like android (Haley Joel Osment) uniquely programmed with the ability to love. The film received positive reviews from critics and performed well at the box office, earning an estimated $235 million worldwide.

Hurt also appeared as Professor John Robinson in the 1998 big-screen adaptation of Lost in Space, which didn’t become a box office hit that would spawn a franchise or even a sequel despite earning moderate success. He also starred in the 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, which was broadcasted on the Sci Fi channel. Other roles include Edward Walker in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, Walt McCandless in Into the Wild, and menacing mob boss Richie Cusack in David Cronenberg’s 2005 action thriller A History of Violence.

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Source: Variety