William Hurt has received one Oscar, he was nominated four times. He loved his profession, but he couldn't always cope with the hustle and bustle of Hollywood. Now the actor has died at the age of 71.
His role in "The Spider Woman's Kiss" from 1985 was probably William Hurt's greatest success: he received an Oscar for it. Hurt played a homosexual man who shares a Brazilian prison cell with a political prisoner.
Breakthrough comes in 1980
Hollywood cinema of the eighties would be inconceivable without this versatile character actor. Even though he thought Hollywood was superficial, there was nothing else for him but being an actor. "I am proud to be an actor," he said.
Hurt came from the theatre, but in film he took off in 1980: He plays the lead role in Ken Russel's horror science fiction film "Altered States". In German cinemas the film is called "Der Höllentrip".
But it is also the romantic films that make Hurt popular and one of Hollywood's blond sex symbols. In "God's Abandoned Children" he plays a teacher at a school for hearing-impaired youngsters who falls in love with the deaf caretaker. A role that earned him an Oscar nomination, as did "News Fever" and "History of Violence" by David Cronenberg.
He avoids the really big roles
At the same time, his relationship to the film business remains divided. The fact that he is an actor, he says in an interview with the "New York Times", does not give anyone the right to take away his privacy. He calls it "stealing his soul". He rejects some outstanding projects, should have been in "Jurassic Park", for example. But he continues to shoot: film, television, often the smaller roles. Privately, conflicts shape his life. His wife, actress Marlee Matlin, describes their marriage as violent.
In 2008, Hurt finds his way to Marvel and plays the role of Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross for the first time in "The Incredible Hulk", who also appears in the Avenger films and in "Black Widow". His last film, "The King's Daughter," hit theatres just a few weeks ago.
Cancer diagnosis 2018
In 2018, Hurt is diagnosed with prostate cancer, which has already metastasised. "I never wanted to hear the word chemo. Five years ago, I rearranged my life so it wouldn't happen to me. And then it comes, and I was really pissed off," he said.
He gets involved with an experimental treatment method that promises fewer side effects. He survives for four years. Now, a week before his 72nd birthday, Hurt has died in Portland, Oregon.
