Marvel Actor William Hurt, Dead At 71: 'Rest Among The Stars Now'

On Sunday, March 13, 2022, Oscar-winning actor William Hurt passed away at the age of 71.

In a statement shared by his son, Will Hurt, he said that his father passed away peacefully of natural causes.

“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 statement, as reported by Deadline, read. “The family requests privacy at this time.”

Hurt leaves behind sons Will, 31, and Samuel, 32, with Heidi Henderson. He also had a son Alexander, 39, with Sandra Jennings. He also leaves behind a daughter, Jeanne, with Sandrine Bonnaire.

After studying acting at Juilliard, Hurt became known for his award-winning role in 1985’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” He also earned nominations for “The Body Heat,” “Children of a Lesser God,” and “Broadcast News.”

In addition to starring in shows like FX’s “Damages” and Amazon’s “Goliath,” he also starred in “The King’s Daughter,” which was released in January 2022.

Other fans might recognize him for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross who appeared in 2009’s “The Incredible Hulk.” He was promoted to Secretary of State in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War.” He also made an appearance in 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War” and 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” – two of the highest-grossing films of all time. His last MCU appearance was in 2021’s “Black Widow.”

Mark Ruffalo, who played the Hulk in the “Avengers” franchise, tweeted, “Wow, another Major loss to the acting community. Great actor. Great mind. RIP.”

George Takei tweeted, “Saddened to hear of the passing of actor William Hurt. He broke the mold in his Oscar-winning role in Kiss of the Spider Woman, broke smiles in Broadcast News, and broke our hearts in The Accidental Tourist. A great loss to the world. Rest among the stars now, good sir.”

Stephen King tweeted, “Very sorry to hear about the passing of William Hurt. He was a fine actor, an Academy Award winner. He also did a classic reading of my story ‘Low Men in Yellow Coats,’ from HEARTS IN ATLANTIS. I loved hitchhiking on his immense talent.”

John Fugelsang tweeted, “God Bless William Hurt. There's no way to overstate how he dominated film acting in the 1980s. I had pics of him all over my wall as a teenager. He got an Oscar nom in ‘A History of Violence’ for 8 minutes of screen time. He used to call me ‘Birdsong’ in emails. Thank you, Bill”

M. Night Shyamalan tweeted, “I’m so sad to hear of the passing of William Hurt. I had the privilege of directing him in The Village. He was a master of his acting craft. Every take was new and revealing. #rip”

Albert Brooks tweeted, “R.I.P. William Hurt. So sad to hear this news. Working with him on Broadcast News was amazing. He will be greatly missed.”