William Hurt, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in movies such as Kiss of the Spider Woman and Broadcast News, has died at the age of 71.
"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," the actor's son Will posted in a statement obtained by entertainment website Deadline.
"He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time."
In 2018, the actor disclosed that he had been diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer which had spread to the bone.
After his screen debut in 1980, as a psychopathologist in the Paddy Chayefsky-scripted Altered States, Hurt quickly emerged as one of the decade's foremost leading men.
He was nominated for an Oscar three times, winning best actor for 1985's Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Hurt also received best actor nominations for 1987's Broadcast News, a satire of the news industry, and for 1986's Children of a Lesser God, a romantic drama set in a school for the deaf.
In the latter stages of his career, Hurt played General Thaddeus Ross in 2008's The Incredible Hulk, a recurring role he would reprise in later superhero films based on Marvel Comics including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow.
In a statement on Twitter, Marvel called Hurt an "amazing talent".
Actors who worked with Hurt took to social media to share their grief over his passing.
Albert Brooks, who worked with Hurt on Broadcast News, said he would be "greatly missed".
"Working with him on Broadcast News was amazing," Brooks wrote.
Topher Grace worked with Hurt on the 2011 film Too Big To Fail.
Grace said Hurt was someone who he admired.
Having started in New York theatre, Hurt returned to the stage to star on Broadway in David Rabe's Hurlyburly, for which he was nominated for a Tony.
Shortly after came Kiss of the Spider Woman.
"Acting is a very intimate and private thing," Hurt told the New York Times in 1983.
"The art of acting requires as much solitude as the art of writing.
"Yeah, you bump up against other people, but you have to learn a craft, technique. It's work."
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