Glenn Close Said Something Tender About Her Friendship With Late William Hurt

Glenn Close had some warm memories to share about her friend, the late William Hurt, this past Monday. Most of them revolved around the first film they made together, The Big Chill.

In the wake of William Hurt’s death this past Sunday, I watched The Big Chill again last night, and was struck by the closeness of the characters. According to Glenn Close, who made a statement on her Instagram account yesterday, the camaraderie between everyone was no act.

For those who don’t already know, the cast included Hurt and Close, along with Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Kline, Jeff Goldblum, and others. (A little-known fact: Kevin Costner played the dead friend, and appeared in a few flashback scenes in the film that were later cut.)

Glenn Close recalled fond memories of William Hurt.

According to Close, there was a genuine sense of friendship and closeness in the group of seven, and between her and Hurt in particular. In her homage to Hurt, she made mention of this fact. “The thing about doing a movie like that, spending so much time together, it really, really creates lasting friendships,” she said.

Close also included a memory in her post about her and Hurt gifting the cast with union suits that had the name of the film on them. (I wonder if everyone still has theirs?) She also spoke about the late actor’s seriousness about his craft.

“I think his face, he felt was kind of an albatross around his neck because he felt people would be attracted to his work because of how he looked, rather than what was in his head and the art of an actor, what he was very, very serious about,” Close said.

Close also applauded Hurt’s acting chops, saying that he was “an actor to his very molecules.” One thing is sure: the memories this movie creates — for so many of us — are anything but chilly.