Shy and seductive star, versatile and chameleonic performer, William Hurt died a week before his 72nd birthday, "peacefully in the family, of natural causes", as announced by one of his sons.
Oscar winner for "Kiss of the Spider Woman" in 1986, he was nominated again for the statuette in 1987 for "Children of a Lesser God" by Randa Haines, in 1988 for "Inside the news" by James L. Brooks and in 2006 for David Cronenberg's “A History of Violence”. He was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1985 for "Hurlyburly" and twice for an Emmy in 2009 for the series "Damages" and in 2011 for the TV movie "Too Big to Fail."
A childhood marked by the divorce of his parents, an adolescence touched by the premature death of his mother, a turbulent married life, a professional life troubled by physical abuse and drug use did not stop the actor, born in Washington in 1950, a career kissed by success since the first interpretation, "States of hallucination" of 1980.
CAREER - In him the director Ken Russell caught the astonished and deep expression of the big blue eyes, the restrained fire of always pushing himself to the extreme.
It is no coincidence that the protagonist of the story (written and then disavowed by Paddy Chayefsky) follows the scientific research, then overwhelmed by a dreamlike delirium, of Eddie Jesuyp who tries on himself the sensory deprivation tank (also used by astronauts) and drugs of the shamans.
Immediately nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Emerging Actor, Hurt owes immediate confirmation a year later to another English director, Peter Yates who in "An Inconvenient Witness" transforms him into the night watchman Darryl Deever, drawn into a shady international intrigue for love by anchorwoman Sigourney Weaver. In the same 1981, the young actor meets the meeting of (professional) life and finds himself, in just one night, elected as a sex symbol for the world audience and Hollywood star. In fact, it is Lawrence Kasdan who wants him to be the protagonist of the noir "Hot Thrill" from the story by James C. Cain.
THE YEARS OF GREAT SUCCESSES - In 1986 comes the Oscar for best actor for "The Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Hector Babenco, from the claustrophobic novel by Manuel Puig.
In the 90s William Hurt reaped the fruits of a career that was always very careful in his choices and often built on the sensitivity of authors with a European nature. This is the case of Woody Allen in "Alice" (1990) and Wim Wenders ("Until the end of the world" of '91), again by Luis Puenzo ("The plague") or Chris Menges ("A father on loan") up to Wayne Wang's "Smoke" in 1995 in which he embodies the writer Paul Benjamin who tells the stories of his friend Auggie, manager of a tobacconist, a simple man with a heart of gold.
In 1996 William Hurt was chosen by Franco Zeffirelli for one of his most ambitious international projects: he is the desperate Signor Rochester in "Jane Eyre" from the novel by Charlotte Bronte.
In 2001 he starred for Steven Spielberg in "AI - Artificial Intelligence". Some capital collaborations will follow such as David Cronenberg's "History of Violence" (2005), Robert De Niro's "The Good Shepherd" (2006), Sean Penn's "Into the Wild".
The last fires of his bright career coincide with the willingness to take on the role of the supporting actor in more than a "big toy" fueled by the myth of superheroes inside and outside the Marvel world. So it was also recently for Todd Robinson's "Black Widow" or the military "He was my son" in which he split the set with Peter Fonda at his "last hurray".
In a few months he should have opposed the incredible Hulk in yet another variant of the comic book made in cinema, but his latest interpretation will remain that of Pere La Chaise in "The daughter of the king", a historical drama starring Pierce Brosnan in the role of the Sun King.
(Unioneonline / vl)