William Hurt
1950 - 2022
as (L to R)
Ned Racine, "Body Heat"
Nick, "The Big Chill"
Tom Gruner, "Broadcast News"
It came as a shock to me to learn of the death of Oscar winning actor William Hurt yesterday at the the age of 71.
Hurt was an incredibly prolific actor. He had over 100 acting credits listed in IMDB, and his obituary tells you that he was a significant stage actor as well before making it big in the movies. He has a rare distinction of being nominated for a Best Actor Oscar three years in a row, 1986, Kiss of the Spider Woman (he won for that one), 1987, Children of a Lesser God, and 1988, Broadcast News, and you can also throw in a Supporting Actor nomination in 2006 as well for A History of Violence.
I last remember seeing him in the 2013 TV mini-series "Bonnie and Clyde" where he played the sheriff who tracked down the infamous outlaws, but he remained prolific in recent years appearing in a handful of super hero comic book movies.
For all his acclaim, my two favorite Hurt roles were that of Ned Racine, the second rate lawyer duped by Kathleen Turner into murdering her husband in Body Heat (1981), and as the drug dealing Vietnam vet Nick in one of my all-time favorite movies, The Big Chill (1983). I still quote his line from that movie where Nick states, while watching a cheesy gangster movie on television, "Sometimes you just have to let art flow over you."
RIP William Hurt
No comments:
Post a Comment