William Hurt Dies Week Before 72nd Birthday; Marvel Star's Son Confirms Cause Of Death

William Hurt, the Oscar-winning actor whose roles ranged from acclaimed 1980s dramas to Marvel films, has died, his son confirmed. The actor was 71.

The "Avengers: Endgame" actor died Sunday, just a week before his 72nd birthday, according to an announcement posted by Hurt's son Will and obtained by Deadline. Will confirmed that his father died of natural causes.

"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," Will wrote.

The news of the actor's death was also confirmed by Hurt's friend Gerry Byrne, Variety reported.

In May 2018, it was announced that Hurt was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer that had spread to the bone, the outlet noted.

Hurt won the Academy Award for best actor 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."

Hurt was also an active stage actor during the 1980s. He appeared in Off-Broadway productions and received his first Tony Award nod in 1985 for the Broadway production of "Hurlyburly."

Hurt was known for playing intelligent characters in his early acting roles before turning to science fiction and appearing in multiple Marvel movies. For his movie debut, he played a scientist in the 1980 sci-fi thriller "Altered States," for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for new star of the year.

From there, he played a memorable role as a lawyer in Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 neo-noir erotic thriller "Body Heat." Pleased with his performance, Kasdan cast Hurt again in 1983 for his comedy-drama "The Big Chill."

Hurt starred in the mystery thriller "Gorky Park" in the same year before going on to appear in "A.I. Artificial Intelligence," "The Village," "Syriana," "The Good Shepherd," "Mr. Brooks," "Into the Wild" and "Robin Hood."

He earned his fourth Oscar nomination for his supporting performance in David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" in 2005.

Hurt appeared on several TV series as well. He portrayed a scientist role again in FX's hit series "Damages" and was also among the cast of Amazon's legal drama "Goliath," which premiered in October 2016 and ended last year, Us Weekly reported.

In recent years, Hurt appeared in several Marvel movies. He first played General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk" before returning as the new secretary of state in "Captain America: Civil War" in 2016.

Hurt reprised the role three more times, including for "Avengers: Infinity War" in 2018 and "Avengers: Endgame" the following year. His final appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was last year's "Black Widow," starring Scarlett Johansson.

Hurt was part of this year's action-adventure fantasy film "The King's Daughter." The movie also starred Pierce Brosnan. Kaya Scodelario, Benjamin Walker, Rachel Griffiths, Julie Andrews and Fan Bingbing and was released on Jan. 21.

Hurt is survived by four children. No memorial details have been revealed.