‘Big Chill’ and ‘Body Heat’ star was 71

Oscar-winning actor William Damage — whose basic beauty and erudite persona made him some of the recognizable male leads within the Eighties — died Sunday, his household mentioned.

Damage, who starred in hit flicks from “The Huge Chill’’ to “Broadcast Information’’ and “Youngsters of a Lesser God,’’ was 71.

The actor suffered from prostate most cancers that unfold to the bone in 2018.

“It’s with nice disappointment that the Damage household mourns the passing of William Damage, beloved father and Oscar successful actor, on March 13, 2022, one week earlier than his 72nd birthday,’’ the actor’s son William mentioned in an announcement.

“He died peacefully, amongst household, of pure causes. The household requests privateness at the moment.”

Within the Eighties, the good-looking lanky blond star was nominated three years in a row for an Academy Award for greatest actor. He received the coveted trophy in 1985 for his position as a homosexual convict sharing the identical cell as a political prisoner in South America in “Kiss of the Spider Girl.”

The one different actors to have three consecutive Finest Actor nods are Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, Gregory Peck, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson and Russell Crowe, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Damage revived his profession and was nominated for an Academy Award for Finest Supporting Actor for his position as Richie Cusack in David Cronenberg’s 2005 movie “A Historical past of Violence,” regardless of solely showing for a couple of minutes of display screen time.

In 2009, Damage was nominated for an Emmy award for taking part in scientist Daniel Purcell on the second season of FX’s “Damages,” and obtained one other nomination two years later for portraying former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Curtis Hanson‘s HBO telefilm “Too Huge to Fail.”

He additionally was well-known for his roles in films akin to “Physique Warmth” and “Gorky Park.’’

Extra not too long ago, Damage appeared as Marvel Comics character Basic Thaddeus Ross in “The Unbelievable Hulk,” “Captain America: Civil Warfare,” “Avengers: Infinity Warfare,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Widow.”

Born in Washington, DC, Damage attended Tufts College and ultimately the Juilliard Faculty. His first huge position was in Ken Russell’s “Altered States.”

Damage lamented to Folks journal in 1985 that he was “a personality actor in a leading-man’s physique.”

He additionally resented the highlight that he was thrust in away from the digicam, telling the New York Instances in 1989 that he felt his privateness was not being revered.

“It’s not proper that my privateness is invaded to the extent that it’s,” Damage mentioned on the time. “I’m a really personal man, and I’ve the correct to be. I by no means mentioned that as a result of I used to be an actor you’ll be able to have my privateness, you’ll be able to steal my soul. You’ll be able to’t.”

The late movie critic Roger Ebert wrote about Damage in 1988 after the discharge of “The Unintended Vacationer,” calling the actor on the time “one of many two or three greatest actors in American films.”

“To nearly all of his roles, he brings alongside a way of the bizarre, the sense that that is merely an individual who occurs to seek out himself on this place at the moment,” Ebert mentioned. “That nearly bland exterior within the opening scenes is what units up the later emotional explosions, particularly in films like Altered States and Physique Warmth.

“When Damage goes excessive, he seems to have began from a quieter place, and so he appears to have traveled a better distance than a Mickey Rourke or a Robert De Niro. Solely Jack Nicholson is his equal at seeming completely bizarre.”

Fellow actors took to social media on Sunday to recollect Damage’s storied profession, together with “Broadcast Information” co-star Albert Brooks.

“R.I.P. William Damage. So unhappy to listen to this information,” Brooks wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Working with him on Broadcast Information was wonderful. He might be significantly missed.”

“Wow, one other Main loss to the appearing neighborhood. Nice actor. Nice thoughts. RIP,” Mark Ruffalo said.

“Saddened to listen to of the passing of actor William Damage,” tweeted Star Trek star George Takei. “He broke the mould in his Oscar-winning position in Kiss of the Spider Girl, broke smiles in Broadcast Information, and broke our hearts in The Unintended Vacationer. A fantastic loss to the world. Relaxation among the many stars now, good sir.”

Director M. Night time Shaymalan, who labored with Damage on his movie “The Village,” said Damage was “a grasp of his appearing craft. Each take was new and revealing”