The Oscar-nominated actor opens up about his film career.
In 2006, William Hurt gaveEntertainment Weeklya tour of his career for our Role Call series.
We’re sharing it againfollowing the Oscar winner’s deathon Sunday, March 13, 2022.
William Hurt in ‘Body Heat’.Everett
“I don’t want to hear compliments,” scoffs the Oscar-winning actor.
“I’m not interested in you paying attention to me on the street.”
“And the first one was for a gay window dresser [inKiss of the Spider Woman].
William Hurt in ‘The Big Chill’.Everett
And I’m glad that that point is being made.
Because I believe in that point.
I am a human being who thinks about and witnesses many different things about us.”
William Hurt in ‘Kiss of the Spider’.Everett
The film gained a cult following and made Hurt a reluctant new star.
I didn’t want to do films.
I was a member of a repertory ensemble company; I was making 165 bucks a week.
William Hurt in ‘Broadcast News’.Everett
I could pay my rent, and I was happy.
[But] Paddy was my hero.
The shoot was 156 consecutive shooting days.
William Hurt in ‘The Accidental Tourist’.Everett
I didn’t want to be famous.
I knew it would be very difficult for me to handle the pressure.
For many, the film’s labyrinthine plot was overshadowed by its graphic sex scenes.
William Hurt in ‘Lost in Space’.Everett Collection
My publicist at the time said, “Don’t do this, this is porno.”
I said, “No, this is the best morality play I’ve ever read.”
But people get stuck and call it a sexy movie rather than a morality play.
William Hurt in ‘A History of Violence’.Everett
I remember one night Larry and I were looking at Kathleen.
It was the shot where she’s walking away in that white dress.
And I whispered to him, “She’s like a longbow.”
The best part about the script was that coda.
But Larry lost final cut.
It went back to the University of Michigan and you met them when they were younger.
That’s when you met Kevin Costner.
It wasn’t shot well enough, and that became the excuse for cutting it.
We shot it first, and you had a bunch of actors who were just getting together.
The coda made the film a classic.
I was very frustrated.
Something wasn’t happening.
I said, “Raul, we’re not getting there.
So let’s reverse [roles].”
So we reversed for hours.
He played Molina and I played Valentin.
And right away I realized what I hadn’t been giving him.
I went racing back to the hotel and I said, “Hector!
I am going to play Valentin.”
And he was like, “No!
It’s too late!”
I just went to watch penguins salivating and lusting for gold dildos.
She looks at me and says, “You live with it.”
When Raul was dying, I went to his house.
He won the first game, and then we played the second game and I won handily.
And he was really pissed.
So we started a third game, and he was too tired to finish.
There were four different films there.
Randa and I were very much at odds.
It was Marlee’s first time out.
I’ve never seen a blade that sharp.
And I did fall for that.
But when the workday started I drew a line between the work and anything personal.
The play was poetry, and the film was not.
We let the writer down, and I’m still sorry about that.
All four earned Oscar nods.
The most memorable thing was the first scene Holly and I shot.
It’s an amazingly astute film.
I was like, “I was just joking, guys!”
Geena Davis is a genius.
She’s completely underrated.
I was working 90-hour weeks.
We were working on this minimalism thing, so it was very quiet, very deft.
She turned to me and said, “Is that all?”
Larry and I looked at each other and went, “That’s it, she’s home.”
She never looked back.
They made me shoot four endings.
I don’t remember what they were, but I remember I wanted my lawyer there.
We shot them all at the same time because they knew they’d never get me back.
Its lackluster $69 million gross led to plenty of “Danger, Will Robinson” jokes.
And she said, “You mean likeLost in Space?”
Didn’t even bat an eyelash.
She said, “I knew they must have had a gun to your head.”
[It] was a wonderful experience.
We also lived in a compound, like a bed-and-breakfast with little bungalows.
So we would eat dinner together.
And I would say, “Anybody wanna rehearse?”
Director David Cronenberg gave Hurt permission to swing for the fences.
I see him as this utterly pathetic, hilarious, poignant, dangerous, lethal being.
I arrived 10 days early.
I started working with a dialect coach and Viggo had time for me every night.
We talked about the history of the characters, where they were coming from, sibling rivalry.
We didn’t even do lines.
[On set] I asked David Cronenberg, “Do you want me to turn on the afterburners?
You want me to cook?”
He said, “Sure, go ahead!”
I don’t want this nomination to be the end of the bookshelf.
‘Cause I think I’ve got a lot more in me.
