# William Hurt, why does this guy get roles? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744 "2012-11-03T08:16:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/1 "2012-11-03T08:16:09Z")
Everything I have ever seen this guy in he is basically playing the same stiff reserved character, well sometimes it appears as though he is actually bored or possibly drugged. He has no range, he would make a great character actor but giving him any kind of substantial role is crazy. I was annoyed by his stiff as a board role in the Dune miniseries, then just tonight I watched the Lost In Space movie. Now the movie has a lot wrong, but Hurt is a big part of that. In one scene he takes a already bad line and makes it worse with his delivery, imagine this said in a deadpan emotionless voice(even for Hurt!) I love you wife. :smack: Yes I always tell me wife “I love you wife” in a monotone affectless voice, it always makes her smile. Then later when investigating a bizarre area that he isn’t even sure he will come back alive from to his family, he appears to be on heavy narcotics. Not only is he showing no emotion in this life or death situation, he seems to be doped up and bemused. I am baffled why this guy gets work. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/2 "2012-11-03T09:15:58Z")
Well, he was good in “Children of a Lesser God” and “Body Heat” (or, at any rate, those were two good movies that weren’t messed up by his presence). Haven’t noticed that he’s a particularly bad actor. _But_ I don’t like him much, because in an interview (I think with Teri Gross on Fresh Air?) he came off as iinnccrreeddiibbllyy pompous and full of himself and his “craft.” That left a sour taste in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/3 "2012-11-03T09:33:11Z")
Hurt does have four Academy Award nominations and one win (“Kiss of the Spider Woman”) plus a bunch of others such as New York film critics and the Emmys. So a bunch of people think he has talent. I don’t know if his pictures make money, or lose great bunches, but I imagine he doesn’t really hurt. I suppose there are enough roles for a stolid, respected but somewhat stiff person (John Robinson in “Lost in Space”, William Marshall in “Robin Hood”, Ahab in “Moby Dick”) to keep him working. And he has managed to avoid career damage when his former girlfriend Marlee Matlin said he beat her up. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/4 "2012-11-03T09:39:05Z")
I’d like to see Hurt cast opposite January Jones in a romance movie, imagine the passion steaming up the screen! ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/5 "2012-11-03T10:24:00Z")
I don’t know of the movies of which you speak, but can I point you in the direction of Midnight Express, Alien, The Elephant Man, The Naked Civil Servant (spectacularily good), Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy and many others. This guy can act. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/6 "2012-11-03T10:34:48Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > I don’t know of the movies of which you speak, but can I point you in the direction of Midnight Express, Alien, The Elephant Man, The Naked Civil Servant (spectacularily good), Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy and many others. This guy can act. Bill. Not John. Anyway, William Hurt was also excellent in Smoke. Just because an actor can’t play every role, that doesn’t mean he isn’t a good actor. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/7 "2012-11-03T10:36:47Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Bill. Not John. Ugh. Cringe. I’ve just woken up. I think I’ll go back to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/8 "2012-11-03T10:59:49Z")
Played the same intense, remote intellectual in Altered States and was very effective. Maybe typecasting serves two purposes. One: directors know what to expect from a handful of actors who seem to repeatedly play themselves (Alec Baldwin, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, any number of model/actresses who are not Charlize Theron and are routinely cast as the love interest for a bumbling, down on his luck character) and two: audiences know what to expect from actors who repeatedly play themselves such as (see aforementioned examples). If someone tells me “I’m going to see the new Cameron Diaz movie” I’m pretty confident it will be a bawdy comedy with bathroom humor. Morgan Freeman’s probably gonna play God. And in a Denzel movie? Shit’s gonna blow up, but the town will be saved from certain disaster. And Hurt? Well, he’ll bring tension to a scene as his supporting cast grows increasingly uncomfortable with his expressionless, intense delivery. He’s so good at that I suspect the same tense dynamic is created in his real life relationships, dental appointments, and the grocery line. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/9 "2012-11-03T11:02:12Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Ugh. Cringe. I’ve just woken up. I think I’ll go back to sleep. I thought it was a hilarious whoosh! You should have gone with that. Would’ve already made you a better actor than William Hurt! ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/10 "2012-11-03T11:02:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Bill. Not John. Hey, at least he didn’t name THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP and INTERIORS. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/11 "2012-11-03T11:21:28Z")
> [@Troppus](#): > > And in a Denzel movie? Shit’s gonna blow up, but the town will be saved from certain disaster. "I wanna tell you about the time I almost died… " ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/12 "2012-11-03T12:31:12Z")
I absolutely agree. I suppose it possible he’s an entirely stellar human being (but the abuse accusations never fully leave my mind when he’s on screen). I actively try to avoid seeing films he’s in, especially if he’s more than a cameo. He just makes me feel stabby. Wooden, pompous, arrogant, constipated…there’s not a single positive adjective that springs to mind. I don’t have very strong negative feelings about many actors, but William Hurt and Ralph Fiennes make me want to engage in wanton property damage, for reasons I don’t begin to understand. Maybe it’s the lack of upper lips. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/13 "2012-11-03T12:39:52Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I don’t have very strong negative feelings about many actors, but William Hurt and Ralph Fiennes make me want to engage in wanton property damage, for reasons I don’t begin to understand. Maybe it’s the lack of upper lips. On the other hand, Ralph Fiennes could play Voldemort with minimal stage makeup. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/14 "2012-11-03T12:52:03Z")
Gah I forgot to mention the scene that made me post this topic in the first place. You’ve just found out that due to time travel wibbly wobbly you missed out on twenty years, in these years your wife and two daughters were most likely raped to death by the guy who tried to murder you and your whole family and got you stranded in space in the first place. Oh and due to infection with alien DNA the guy is an eight foot tall demonic looking monster, and once he got bored raping the women(or they died) he started raping…er consensual sexual relationship with your now grown son for two decades. Hurt manages a look of disgust less than I produce when cleaning out the fridge.:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/15 "2012-11-03T13:07:07Z")
Is THAT in the Lost in Space movie??? I think there’s a place in the acting universe for such as William Hurt, not everyone has to be oozing with blabbering emotion on screen. I remember he played a snooty doctor who got cancer and learned empathy, a reviewer said his character was “a speeding silver bullet of a man” (words to that affect) which I thought was quite apt. His profile does somewhat resemble a sleek hood ornament! ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/16 "2012-11-03T13:25:48Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Is THAT in the Lost in Space movie??? They pass the graves of the mom and daughters, then mutated Smith says something like once he got tired of ravishing the women he got a taste for the son or something, then him and the son look at each other warmly. Ok so maybe they just died of natural causes, I’ll give you that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/17 "2012-11-03T13:40:54Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Well, he was good in “Children of a Lesser God” and “Body Heat” (or, at any rate, those were two good movies that weren’t messed up by his presence). IIRC, Christopher Reeve turned down the _not-as-dumb-as-he-looks-but not-as-bright-as-he-thinks_ role in “Body Heat”, since he didn’t feel he’d be convincing. I have to wonder what he thought upon watching the other guy sleepwalk through the part; I agree Hurt didn’t mess up, but he was just sort of – there. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/18 "2012-11-03T13:46:19Z")
I’ll just quote myself ( slightly edited ) from a previous thread… > [@Bad actors who show up in good movies with surprising frequency](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-actors-who-show-up-in-good-movies-with-surprising-frequency/463853/15): > > See, now I _like_ William Hurt, despite the lack of a vast range. He’s not a chameleon like Gary Oldman, but then neither was Humphrey Bogart. It’s all a matter of casting - cast him properly and I think he works well. Blocked up and slightly lost is what is called for in films like _Accidental Tourist_ or _Rare Birds_. And IMHO he can twist slightly-lost-and-vacant to slightly-deranged-and-vacant with good effect as in _History of Violence_ or _I Love You To Death_. I don’t think you can fault him all that much for _Lost in Space_. It was a dog of a movie and I agree he was probably miscast. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/19 "2012-11-03T13:49:18Z")
I think he’s great in A History of Violence. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2012, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744/20 "2012-11-03T14:26:30Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I think he’s great in A History of Violence. I agree with this _and_ with the OP. Hurt seems like a stiff in virtually every role. To me, he’s similar to John Malkovich–this deadpan, distracted delivery that’s supposed to be deep or something, but that comes off as exciting as watching a toaster. The best you can hope for is that he’s cast in a role where it doesn’t matter that much that the furniture seems to be be more enthusiastic than he is. When I saw him in _A History of Violence_ I was pleasantly surprised. It’s like somebody woke him up or gave him a cup of coffee or something. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/william-hurt-why-does-this-guy-get-roles/639744.md?page=2)