AKA William M. Hurt

Born: 20-Mar-1950
Birthplace: Washington, DC

Gender: Male
Religion: Lutheran
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Altered States, Broadcast News

William Hurt is an Oscar-winning actor, specializing in earnest, usually intelligent characters. His best-known films include Altered States, and Broadcast News.

Hurt was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Guam, Somalia, and Sudan. His father worked for the State Department, and when his parents divorced, his mother married Time heir Henry Luce III. Luce soon sent young Hurt to a boarding school, where he found drama classes and drinking eased his isolation. Hurt studied theology before becoming an actor. Hurt found work in regional theater, and early in his career he appeared in a two-part episode of Kojak and a dull PBS miniseries called The Best of Families.

He was still virtually unknown when he starred in Ken Russell's 1980 off-kilter classic Altered States, which was a financial and artistic success. Hurt went on to become one of the 1980s biggest stars, with the sultry Body Heat (1981), the nostalgic The Big Chill (1983), the gayly political Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), the hearing impaired Children of a Lesser God, and the hilarious Broadcast News (1987).

Hurt's star dimmed in the 1990s, with inferior films like Trial by Jury, Loved, and Lost in Space. He is now as likely to play supporting roles as leading men. In the new millennium, he has played a futuristic Geppetto in Artificial Intelligence: AI, Samuel L. Jackson's AA sponsor in Changing Lanes, and an elder in The Village. Hurt has long battled alcoholism. His second wife, Heidi Henderson, stipulated in their prenuptial agreement that Hurt's alimony payments would increase if he relapsed into his drinking habit. Whether that clause came into effect is known only by Hurt, his ex-wife, and their lawyers. He is fluent in French, has acted in French films, and lives in Paris with French film star Sandrine Bonnaire.

Father: Henry Luce III (stepfather, son of Henry R. Luce)
Wife: Mary Beth Hurt (actress, m. 1971, div. Dec-1982)
Girlfriend: Sandra Jennings (cohabited 1981-84, one son)
Son: Alexander Hurt
Girlfriend: Marlee Matlin (actress, cohabited in 1986)
Wife: Heidi Henderson (dau. Skitch Henderson, m. 4-Mar-1989, div. 1993, two sons)
Son: Willie
Son: Sam
Girlfriend: Sandrine Bonnaire (actress, ex-, one daughter)
Daughter: Jeanne Hurt (b. Feb-1994)

    High School: Middlesex School, Concord, MA (1968)
    University: BA Theology, Tufts University (1972)

    Nader for President 2004
    Oscar for Best Actor 1986 for Kiss of the Spider Woman
    Risk Factors: Alcoholism

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Vantage Point (20-Feb-2008)
    Into the Wild (1-Sep-2007)
    Mr. Brooks (31-May-2007)
    The Good Shepherd (11-Dec-2006)
    Syriana (23-Nov-2005)
    Neverwas (9-Sep-2005)
    A History of Violence (16-May-2005)
    The King (15-May-2005)
    The Village (26-Jul-2004)
    The Blue Butterfly (20-Feb-2004)
    Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story (10-Nov-2002)
    Tuck Everlasting (8-Sep-2002)
    Nearest to Heaven (30-Aug-2002)
    Changing Lanes (7-Apr-2002)
    Rare Birds (9-Sep-2001)
    Artificial Intelligence: AI (26-Jun-2001)
    Varian's War (22-Apr-2001)
    The Flamingo Rising (4-Feb-2001)
    Dune (3-Dec-2000)
    The Contaminated Man (30-Aug-2000)
    The 4th Floor (10-Aug-2000)
    The Miracle Maker (31-Mar-2000) [VOICE]
    The Simian Line (15-Jan-2000)
    Do Not Disturb (4-Nov-1999)
    Sunshine (13-Sep-1999)
    The Big Brass Ring (20-Apr-1999)
    One True Thing (18-Sep-1998)
    Lost in Space (3-Apr-1998)
    The Proposition (27-Mar-1998)
    Dark City (27-Feb-1998)
    Loved (Apr-1997)
    Michael (25-Dec-1996)
    A Couch in New York (21-Feb-1996)
    Jane Eyre (9-Feb-1996)
    Smoke (9-Jun-1995)
    Second Best (11-Sep-1994)
    Trial by Jury (9-Sep-1994)
    Mr. Wonderful (15-Oct-1993)
    The Plague (26-Aug-1992)
    Until the End of the World (12-Sep-1991)
    The Doctor (24-Jul-1991)
    Alice (25-Dec-1990)
    I Love You to Death (6-Apr-1990)
    The Accidental Tourist (23-Dec-1988)
    A Time of Destiny (22-Apr-1988)
    Broadcast News (16-Dec-1987)
    Children of a Lesser God (3-Oct-1986)
    Kiss of the Spider Woman (6-Jun-1985)
    The Big Chill (9-Sep-1983)
    Gorky Park (1983)
    Body Heat (28-Aug-1981)
    Eyewitness (26-Aug-1981)
    Altered States (12-Dec-1980)
    Verna: USO Girl (25-Jan-1978)

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