Oscar-winning actor and Marvel Cinematic Universe regular William Hurt has died of natural causes at the age of 71. Having made his film debut in 1980 in the movie Altered States, Hurt has gone on to star in over 70 movies in his career, the last of which was The King’s Daughter in January this year. In recent years he became best known for playing Thaddeus Ross in the MCU, first appearing as the character in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk and making his last on-screen appearance in Black Widow last year. As a tribute to his memory, it has been announced that a voice clip is being added to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness with the film being dedicated to his memory.
The news of the actor’s passing was announced by his son, who shared a social media post reading, “It is with great sadness that the Hurt family mourns the passing of William Hurt, beloved father and Oscar-winning actor, on March 13, 2022, one week before his 72nd birthday. He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time.”
After studying at the Juilliard School, Hurt made his acting debut on stage in the late 1970s, appearing in productions such as Fifth of July, Hamlet and Ulysses in Traction before making his film debut. Following his role in Altered States, the actor went on to play a lawyer seduced by Kathleen Turner in Body Heat, and starred in Gorky Park. It was a few years later that Hurt really hit his stride, being nominated for three consecutive Best Actor awards at the Oscars for the movies Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News. He won the first of those nominations for 1985’s Kiss of the Spider Woman.
William Hurt Maintained a High Profile and Gained A Whole New Audience in the MCU
William Hurt continued to appear regularly on-screen throughout his career, having appeared in a new movie almost every year since his 1980 debut. He spent much of his time making drama movies, but also starred in genre films such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, and the movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s The Host.
In 2008, Hurt played the roles of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in The Incredible Hulk, becoming the anchor between the movie and the MCU as the only actor to reprise his role, with the recent exception of Tim Roth who has now returned as The Abomination. As Ross, Hurt has appeared in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and last year’s release of Black Widow. There had been rumors that Ross would be appearing in future MCU projects linked to the Hulk, but any plans that were in place will now probably not go ahead exactly as planned.
As news of his death was announced, fans and celebrities including the MCU’s current Hulk Mark Ruffalo, shared their thoughts and condolences. You can find some of these below as we offer our thoughts to his family and friends at this time. Rest in peace, William Hurt.