"He was totally against taking opiates because he had been sober for decades," a close friend of Hurt told the Daily Mail.
"He was totally against taking opiates because he had been sober for decades," a close friend of Hurt told the Daily Mail.
When news broke on Monday that Oscar-winning actor, William Hurt, had died at the age of 71, it was met with great sadness, but not surprise.
The Marvel actor revealed in May 2018 that he was battling prostate cancer, which had spread and was terminal.
Hurt's son, Will, shared the news on social media that his famous father had ultimately succumbed to his illness, but it has now been revealed that Hurt's suffering would have been even more extreme than would be expected.
Prostate cancer is known to be extremely painful in its final stages. The agony would normally be treated with strong opiate medication, such as morphine. It has now been revealed, however, that Hurt was reluctant to give up his hard-fought, decades-long sobriety and refused pain killers for as long as he could.
Hurt won an Academy Award for his role in the 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman. Photo / Getty Images
A source close to the late actor has revealed that Hurt spent his last few weeks in "excruciating pain" only agreeing to hospice care in his final days, when the pain became unbearable.
The source told the Daily Mail: "His death was not so much tragic as a gift. He was experiencing so much pain and suffering, and he went out peacefully.
"He was totally against taking opiates because he had been sober for decades," they continued.
"That's why he sought out alternative treatments. And he had been doing really well for so long. He even did a couple of movies in between all of this.
"But the cancer just got the best of him. He succumbed to getting morphine just in the last week."
Hurt died from the cancer that have ravaged him on March 13, in his home in Portland, Oregon, surrounded by family, a week before his 72nd birthday.
The source close to Hurt told the Daily Mail that the award-winning actor was "sharp", right up until the end.
"We've talked a lot in the last year, and he was still his same self," the source said.
Hurt struggled with drug and alcohol addiction in the 1980s, when his star was on the rise. He attended rehab several times and even met his wife, Heidi Henderson, who he married in 1989, while in rehab.
The Washington, DC-born actor won an Academy Award for his role in the 1985 film Kiss of the Spider Woman and was nominated for his performances in movies including A History of Violence, Broadcast News and Children of a Lesser God.
William Hurt's role as a clueless newsreader in Broadcast News in 1987 proved to be one of his most iconic roles. Photo / Getty Images
Off the silver screen, Hurt was a father of four adult children, Alexander, 39, William, 31, Samuel, 32, and Jeanne, 28, who he fathered to three different mothers in the 80s and 90s.
He was also an active stage actor during the 1980s, receiving his first Tony Award nomination in 1985 for the Broadway production of Hurlyburly.
His debut film role was in 1980, playing a scientist in the science fiction thriller Altered States, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination for New Star of the Year.
To younger fans, Hurt was part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films in his role as the Thaddeus Ross, a general who was there on the fateful day Bruce Banner became the Hulk.
His character appeared in five Marvel films, including The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and Black Widow, as well as the Marvel One-Shot The Consultant.
