William Hurt, known for ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman,’ ‘Broadcast News,’ dies at 71

William Hurt, the Oscar-winning Hollywood leading man best known for his quietly commanding performances in “Body Heat,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Children of a Lesser God” and “Broadcast News,” died Sunday.

He was 71 — and a few days shy of his 72nd birthday.

Hurt’s son, Will, told the Associated Press that his father died of natural causes while surrounded by family.

In a screen acting career that spanned more than four decades, Hurt deftly alternated between starring and supporting roles. He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in 1986 for his performance as a gay prisoner in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

In recent years, Hurt introduced himself to a new generation of viewers as U.S. government official Thaddeus Ross in five Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, including the 2021 spy thriller “Black Widow.”

Hurt was capable of making a big impression even with a small part. He was particularly memorable as a sinister mob boss in David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” — a roughly 10-minute cameo that earned him an Oscar nod for best supporting actor.

Hurt was born on March 20, 1950, in Washington, D.C. He got his start in stage repertory companies before making his feature-film debut in Ken Russell’s sci-fi horror flick “Altered States,” released in 1980.

The decade that followed proved to be particularly fruitful for the tall and subtly authoritative performer. He shot to leading man status with his turn in Kasdan’s erotic neo-noir thriller “Body Heat” (1981), burning up the screen alongside Kathleen Turner.

He again teamed up with Kasdan two years later later in the dramedy “The Big Chill,” standing out in a crowded ensemble as an emotionally scarred Vietnam War veteran and drug dealer.

Héctor Babenco’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” brought Hurt some of the most significant accolades and glowing reviews of his career. He played Luis Alberto Molina, who shares a Brazilian prison cell with Raúl Juliá’s leftist activist.

Hurt’s performance earned him the best actor Oscar as well as equivalent prizes from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and the National Board of Review.

He was nominated for an Oscar a year later for his leading role in the romantic drama “Children of a Lesser God,” co-starring with Marlee Matlin. (He lost the Oscar to Paul Newman for Martin Scorsese’s “The Color of Money.”)

Hurt scored a third consecutive actor nomination as the charming and charismatic but intellectually limited TV news anchorman Tom Grunick in James L. Brooks’ beloved romantic comedy “Broadcast News.”

Time magazine critic Richard Corliss praised Hurt for “never standing safely outside his character, always allowing Tom to find the humor in his too-rapid success, locating a dimness behind his eyes when Tom is asked a tough question — and for Tom, poor soulless sensation-to-be, all questions are tough ones.”

Albert Brooks, who co-starred with Hurt in “Broadcast News,” mourned his passing in a tweet Sunday. “He will be greatly missed,” Brooks said in part.

Hurt continued to work at a steady clip in the 1980s and ’90s, acting in Kasdan’s “The Accidental Tourist” (1988), Wim Wenders’ “Until the End of the World” (1991), Alex Proyas’ “Dark City” (1998) and various under-the-radar productions.

In that era, Hurt seemed to refashion himself as a character actor who did not necessarily need to dominate the multiplex marquee.

“It’s difficult to say whether other factors, like Mr. Hurt’s personal life or reports that he is difficult to work with, have contributed to his low screen profile in the 1990s so far,” The New York Times reporter Anita Gates wrote in a 1994 profile.

“In person, Mr. Hurt doesn’t seem hostile,” Gates went on to write. “He smiles, is polite and even gives an occasional playful answer.”

Hurt was comparatively more high-profile in the 2000s, appearing in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001), M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” (2004), Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” (2005) and Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” (2007).

He also showed up on television, including the second season of the FX series “Damages.” He portrayed the former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson in the HBO financial crisis film “Too Big to Fail,” which aired in 2011.