In the middle of his Hollywood career, William Hurt cut his teeth as a chef in a St. John's kitchen

Two members of Newfoundland and Labrador's entertainment industry are remembering William Hurt as an actor dedicated to his craft, and as someone who enjoyed his time in the province.

St. John's actor Andy Jones starred alongside Hurt in Rare Birds, a 2001 independent film based off local writer Edward Riche's novel of the same name.

"As an actor, I loved working with him. When the camera rolled, he was absolutely there," Jones told The St. John's Morning Show Monday. "He was with me all the way… So I enjoyed doing that with him too."

Hurt was known for performances in movies such as Broadcast News, Body Heat and The Big Chill, along with playing Thaddeus Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to the bone in 2018, and died of natural causes Sunday at the age of 71.

Paul Pope of Pope Productions produced Rare Birds, saying it was one of the company's first big theatrical productions. He called Hurt's death heartbreaking while looking back on his first interactions with the actor.

"William Hurt is a big part of my career, and we had a lot of fun working together," he said.

Rare Birds saw Hurt play the role of Dave, a chef ready to call it quits in rural Newfoundland until his restaurant sees a resurgence following a story about a fictional rare bird sighting. Pope remembers the dedication Hurt brought to the role — highlighted by a phone call he got from another actor about an off the books rehearsal.

"I called the production manager and called the director and said 'You know anything about a rehearsal going on?' And they said nope. Nobody knows anything. So I called William up...and he goes 'Yes, I'm having a few people down to the kitchen, we're doing some restaurant practice," Pope said.

"What he had done, completely on his own, he walked around downtown and found a restaurant he liked, which was The Cellar, and he went in and met the chef, Todd Perrin. And he asked Todd Perrin to train him to be a chef…Every night, unbeknownst to us, he was going and working in the kitchen at The Cellar."

Hurt ended up working with Pope and director Sturla Gunnarsson to get Perrin in the movie as his sous chef, and treated the entire cast and crew to dinner at The Cellar before shooting wrapped.

Pope also recalled a downpour of rain during one day of shooting. As the local cast and crew worked to keep spirits, he says it was something that resonated with Hurt.

"Just as we're finishing up in the pouring rain, William looks at me and he says 'You Newfoundlanders, you remind me of the Lichen, you'll be here long after we're gone," he said. "He was really taken by the eagerness of the crew."

Both Jones and Pope say Hurt left a lasting impact on their careers, adding Hurt taught them things they both still use each day.

"The most important thing ultimately is just that moment where you are acting," Jones said. "Everything else moves back from there, so he helped me in that way. To sort of stand up for that as much as I could."