A substantial, seemingly cerebral antithesis to some of the film industry's flashier favorites, William Hurt's quiet, often stone-faced dignity masks a depth of talent that has elevated many a film over the last two decades. 

Born in Washington DC in 1950, Hurt spent much of his early childhood in Guam where his father, a state department employee, was stationed. Returning stateside following his parents' divorce, the ten-year old Hurt endured more upheaval when his mother married Henry Luce III, multimillionaire heir to the Time-Life fortune. 

Unaccustomed to living a life wealth and privilege that included boarding school, young Bill sought solace in amateur theatrics. And though he initially studied theology at Tufts University at his stepfather's request, Hurt once again found himself drawn to dramatics. As a junior he met and married a fellow thespian who went on to find success in her own right as Mary Beth Hurt in films including The World According to Garp (1980).

After a stint in London and studies at Julliard, Hurt joined New York's Circle Rep and quickly began to gain a name for himself. In 1980 he made his film debut as the obsessed scientist in Altered States and the following year turned in two very different star-making performances: first as the mild-mannered janitor caught up in a murder mystery in Eyewitness, followed by the small time lawyer caught in a web of love, lies, and deceit in Body Heat. In quick succession came The Big Chill, Gorky Park (1983) and, in 1985, an Oscar®-winning turn as a homosexual prisoner in Kiss of the Spider Woman. A big (he's 6"3"), WASPy, blonde, Hurt became a sex symbol of sorts for the 1980s thinking woman, finishing the decade with an impressive list of credits topped by Children of a Lesser God (1986), Broadcast News (1987), and The Accidental Tourist (1988). 

Remaining active on both the stage and in films during the ensuing years, Hurt has focused on smaller films that seem to better suit his intellectual persona. He does, however, occasionally return to the land of big budgets as evidenced by his appearances in sci-fi extravaganzas Lost in Space (1998) and A.I. (2001). In 1996 Hurt co-starred with John Travolta in the sleeper hit Michael and also took a stab at interpreting one of literature's most enigmatic characters, Mr. Edward Rochester, in Franco Zefferelli's version of Jane Eyre. 

Long since divorced from his first wife, Hurt was once married to Heidi Henderson, daughter of legendary bandleader Skitch Henderson. 

Source: amctv.com