R.I.P. William Hurt 1950-2022

The entertainment world was saddened to learn of the death of William Hurt after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer at age 72. One of the ten best actors of the 1980s, the press-shy Oscar winner never got talked about as much as Cruise, Costner, and Gibson, but his talent was more than enough to make up for his lack of interest in being a celebrity. After an impressive run in 1970s NY theater, Hurt seemed to arrive in Hollywood fully formed to star in the sci-fi sleeper "Altered States". The next eight years was spent headlining one critical favorite after another- "Body Heat", "The Big Chill", "Kiss of the Spider Woman", "Children of a Lesser God", "Broadcast News", and "The Accidental Tourist". The '90s were less fruitful, as smaller movies significantly lowered his profile, but he never stopped working, and fans celebrated his "comeback" role in 2005's "A History of Violence". Hurt overcame his blockbuster bias(he turned down "Jurassic Park") to appear in five MCU movies that introduced his name and face to a new generation. We could certainly use more actors as honest and gifted as William Hurt.

Complete filmography- "Altered States"(1980), "Eyewitness"(1981), "Body Heat"(1981), "The Big Chill"(1983), "Gorky Park"(1983), "Kiss of the Spider Woman"(1985), "Children of a Lesser God"(1986), "Broadcast News"(1987), "A Time of Destiny"(1988), "The Accidental Tourist"(1988), "I Love You to Death"(1990), "Alice"(1990), "Until the End of the World"(1991), "The Doctor"(1991), "The Plague"(1992), "Mr. Wonderful"(1993), "Second Best"(1994), "Trial by Jury"(1994), "Smoke"(1995), "A Couch in New York"(1996), "Michael"(1996), "Jane Eyre"(1996), "Loved"(1997), "Lost in Space"(1998), "Dark City"(1998), "One True Thing"(1998), "The 4th Floor"(1999), "Sunshine"(1999), "The Big Brass Ring"(1999), "Do Not Disturb"(1999), "Contaminated Man"(2000), "The Miracle Maker"(2000), "Rare Birds"(2001), "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"(2001), "The Simian Line"(2001), "Tuck Everlasting"(2002), "Changing Lanes"(2002), "Nearest to Heaven"(2002), "The Blue Butterfly"(2004), "The Village"(2004), "The King"(2005), "A History of Violence"(2005), "Neverwas"(2005), "Syriana"(2005), "The Good Shepherd"(2006), "The Legend of Sasquatch"(2006)-voice role, "Mr Brooks"(2007), "Beautiful Ohio"(2007), "Noise"(2007), "Into the Wild"(2007), "Vantange Point"(2008), "The Incredible Hulk"(2008), "The Countess"(2009), "The Yellow Handkerchief"(2010), "Robin Hood"(2010), "The River Why"(2011), "Late Bloomers"(2011), "Hellgate"(2011), "The Host"(2013), "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"(2013), "Fire in the Blood"(2013)-narrator, "Days and Nights"(2013), "Winter's Tale"(2014), "Race"(2016), "Captain America: Civil War"(2016), "The Miracle Season"(2018), "Avengers: Infinity War"(2018), "Avengers: Endgame"(2019), "The Last Full Measure"(2019), "Black Widow"(2021), "The King's Daughter"(2022)