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William Hurt: Oscar-winning actor dies at 71

William Hurt, the Oscar-winning US actor whose roles ranged from acclaimed 1980s dramas to Marvel films, has died at the age of 71, US media say.

Hurt won the best actor Oscar in 1986 for playing a prisoner in a Brazilian jail in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

He was nominated two more times in the next two years, for Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News.

In recent years, he has been known as General Thaddeus Ross in five Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbusters.

Hollywood website Deadline quoted a statement from Hurt's son Will as saying: "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.

"He died peacefully, among family, of natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time."

Variety said the news was confirmed by Hurt's friend Gerry Byrne.

William Hurt in Broadcast News

Fellow Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo wrote on Twitter: "Wow, another Major loss to the acting community. Great actor. Great mind. RIP."

US actor Albert Brookes, who appeared with Hurt in Broadcast News, wrote that he would be "greatly missed".

Hurt began acting on stage in the 1970s before making his big-screen breakthrough in Altered States, which earned him a best newcomer nomination at the Golden Globes in 1981.

That year, he also starred as a sleazy lawyer in erotic thriller Body Heat, before being cast in The Big Chill and Gorky Park.

After his run of three consecutive Oscar nominations, he appeared in films including The Accidental Tourist, Lost in Space, Contagion and AI before earning his fourth Oscar nomination for David Cronenberg's A History of Violence in 2006.

He also received Emmy nominations for playing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in 2011's Too Big to Fail, and for legal TV drama Damages.