I always had a bit of a negative thing with William Hurt. Might have been some of Marlee Matlin's talk show stories about their relationship. Might have been some of the unpleasant characters he has played. I think the first time I actually saw Hurt on film was as the unlikable husband of Meryl Streep in One True Thing. (1998) Over the last few months however I have had the opportunity to watch some of Hurt's work and his talent, and sex appeal is undeniable.
Humans
I am loving AMC's Humans. It was while watching that I realized his character Dr. George Millican is almost full circle from his role as Prof Hobby in 2001's A.I. Both are responsible for the creation of a robot that can not only think, but feel. A.I is one of my favorite of Spielberg's films because of the way it makes me feel. The plot, especially the dragged out middle, make the film long and hard to get through but Haley Joel Osment is powerfully effective as David and some of the scenes are some of Spielberg's most heartbreaking.
Hurt with Haley Joel Osment in Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Thanks mostly to TCM, since January I have seen Hurt in Altered States, Broadcast News and The Big Chill. I also found copies of Body Heat and re-watched Children Of A Lesser God. Body Heat gets a lot of press for it's sex scenes, watching it recently had me thinking it was a bit dated and tame. Hurt was incredibly sexy though and Body Heat is one of several films he in which he had nude scenes, including a few 'blink and you miss it' frontals.
Below: Hurt with Tom Berenger Jeff Goldblum and Kevin Kline in The Big Chill (1983)
