William Hurt

His ex-wife, Heidi, is the daughter of Skitch Henderson.

He lived with Sandra Jennings from 1981-1984.

Lives in Oregon with his two sons, Willie and Sam from his marriage to Heidi Henderson.

Turned down the role played by Sam Neill in Jurassic Park .

He is the son of Claire Isabel (McGill) and Alfred McChord Hurt, who worked in the state department. His stepfather, Henry Luce III, was the son of Time magazine founder Henry Luce.

Recipient of the first Spencer Tracy Award in 1988 for outstanding screen performances.

He is an avid private pilot with taildragger experience.

Turned down the lead role of Paul Sheldon in Misery .

Speaks French fluently.

Has four children: Daughter Jeanne Bonnaire-Hurt (born February 1, 1994) with Sandrine Bonnaire , son Alexander Devon Hurt with Sandra Jennings, and sons Samuel Hurt (born August 7, 1989) and William Hurt with ex-wife Heidi Henderson.

Was nominated for Broadways 1985 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) for David Rabe s Hurlyburly.

On May 25, 2005, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts by Tufts University.

Godfather of actress Meghan Glennon.

Lived with Children of a Lesser God actress Marlee Matlin for some years in the 1980s.

Made his stage debut in "Henry V" in 1977 for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Is the uncle of Oliver Hurt.

Went to the Middlesex School; graduated 10 years before Steve Carell.

He waived his salary for Kiss of the Spider Woman so that the film could be made within its budget.

Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.

Acted in five Best Picture nominees in the 1980s: The Big Chill , Kiss of the Spider Woman , Children of a Lesser God , Broadcast News and The Accidental Tourist .

Is a big fan of the comic book character The Incredible Hulk and got to play his enemy Thaddeus Ross in the 2008 adaption.

He has English, as well as German, Scottish, and Irish, ancestry.

He had a role in the since suspended Gregg Allman biopic, Midnight Rider. Production was halted when 1 crew member was killed and 7 others were injured when hit by a freight train on the first day of filming.

He has worked with 4 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: James L. Brooks , Woody Allen , Anthony Minghella , and Steven Spielberg.

I am not a star, I am an actor.

[on being taken hostage in Brazil while filming,Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) ] - We had 36 hours off from,filming and me and my date at the time get into a car and we drove,south to a village where her parents had a small villa in a very modest,town with dirt streets. And as we drove into the driveway at midnight a,car pulled up behind us and blocked our exit. The engine of that car,was turned off. There were four people in it: two men and two women.

[on getting into his supporting role as the final-act villain in,A History of Violence (2005) ] - David [Cronenberg] was so kind,with with me. I arrived 10 days early. I filmed only for a couple days.

[accepting his Best Actor Oscar for,Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) ] I share this with Raul (Julia).

Being famous is not something that would make me feel successful - unless one was striving for mediocrity.

But I am not going to live for ever. And the more I know it, the more amazed I am by being here at all.

Great risks come in long term, tremendously assiduous, very courageous study.

Heroes to me are guys that sit in libraries. They absorb knowledge and then the risks they take are calculated on the basis of the courage it took to become replete with knowledge.

The achievement is appreciation. Your ability to be surprised and awed by beauty!,The problem with Google is you have 360 degrees of omnidirectional information on a linear basis, but the algorithms for irony and ambiguity are not there. And those are the algorithms of wisdom.

The irony is that the more specific you are in the portrayal of character, the more like other people you are. In the same way, the more you think about how alone you are in this life, you realise how much a brother and sister everyone else is.

Being a father, being a friend, those are the things that make me feel successful. .