William Hurt: Typecasting & Acting

William Hurt has some words for Hollywood: “People want persona in this town, that’s what they crank out so you’re always working against that cheapening of your talent and ability.”

In his upcoming film, The Yellow Handkerchief, he plays an ex-con with a troubled past. How did he get into character? “I spent the night in a maximum security prison, I guess I’m one of the first people who’s ever done that and I spent the night talking around the corner to a guy who’s going to be in there for two thousand years and we never saw each other’s faces. I wanted to authenticate that and I wanted to show people whose existence comes from the ground up, from the dirt on which we walk,” he said.