Why Didn't Mary Beth Hurt Have A Bigger Career?
per Wikipedia:
DL fave Mary Beth Hurt was born Mary Beth Supinger in 1946 in Marshalltown, Iowa. Her childhood babysitter was actress Jean Seberg, also a Marshalltown native. Hurt studied drama at the University of Iowa and at New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.
Hurt made her film debut as the troubled Joey in Woody Allen's INTERIORS in 1978, followed by CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER, A CHANGE OF SEASONS, then played Helen in THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP with Robin WIlliams and Glenn Close. She married and later divorced actor William Hurt, and then filmmaker Paul Schrader.
She was even friends with Meryl back in their early NYC theatre days. So much promise! What happened?
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 22, 2020 7:38 PM
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I saw this on PBS as a kid. Hurt was riveting.
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 21, 2020 6:03 PM
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I used to confuse her with Bonnie Bedelia and Elizabeth McGovern.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | June 21, 2020 6:06 PM
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I never realized she was married to William Hurt. I thought she was John Hurt’s sister. That suggests her problem. Too many Hurts.
| by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 21, 2020 6:07 PM
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I get her name mixed up with Mary Kay Place.
| by Anonymous | reply 5 | June 21, 2020 6:39 PM
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She's a great actor, but I think her looks and desire to focus on theatre held her back in her peak years. I also think there might be a bit of 'Judy Davis syndrome' where she didn't court the spotlight and played such brittle and unlikeable characters that people just saw her that way and it never led to future opportunities (Interiors is a good example).
I recently saw an indie film called The Dead Girl with an amazing female cast (Toni Collette, Rose Byrne, Piper Laurie, Marcia Gay Hard-on, Mary Steenburgen, Brittany Murphy, Kerry Washington, as well as James Franco, Josh Brolin, and Giovanni Ribisi). Even with all those names, Mary Beth Hurt almost steals the show during her segment. A searingly natural performance.
| by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 21, 2020 6:40 PM
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She would have been perfect for the "peak indie" era that was dominated by Parker Posey, Lily Taylor, et. al. Different from those women but someone who fit the mileu of those films. She went for the stage, never did a lot of television and never showed much talent for coemdy. I would imagine that those things and her increasing age limited her film roles.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | June 21, 2020 6:43 PM
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Very fine actress but not conventionally pretty by Hollywood standards, which was a problem for a number of talented women. I believe William Hurt was abusive to her during their marriage which led to the divorce.
| by Anonymous | reply 8 | June 21, 2020 6:47 PM
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[quote]Marcia Gay Hard-on
Um, just out of curiosity, what spell check program are you using?
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 21, 2020 6:57 PM
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Mary Beth Hurt had a decent career.
Not everyone is going to be a movie star. Some will just be actors.
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | June 21, 2020 7:28 PM
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She's a raging bitch and unrelenting sex pest!!!!
| by Anonymous | reply 12 | June 21, 2020 7:46 PM
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Damn you r11. I was going to call out r4 as a VULGARIAN.
| by Anonymous | reply 13 | June 21, 2020 7:50 PM
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I hadnt seen her in years and then there she was on the screen in The Exorcism of Emily Rose playing the judge. You couldnt take your eyes off of her. A very underrated actor.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | June 21, 2020 8:07 PM
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R6 I second that recommendation. The Dead Girl is a great movie. The director also made another excellent movie called Blue Car.
| by Anonymous | reply 15 | June 21, 2020 10:51 PM
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I saw her attending the theater once with G. I guess she is team G now not team M.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | June 22, 2020 3:47 AM
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I prefer to appear with, well, more successful peers, when I need to appear at all, R16.
| by Anonymous | reply 17 | June 22, 2020 7:37 PM
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She married Paul Schrader.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | June 22, 2020 7:38 PM
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