Born in Toronto, Ontario, he is one of Canada's most honoured and acclaimed actors.Hutt served 5 years in WWII with the 7th Canadian Light Field Ambulance, winning the Military Medal in 1944 for "bravery in the field" during the Italian campaign.
From his novice days at Hart House Theatre and with Trinity College, University of Toronto, he launched his professional career in 1948 in summer stock, going on to become leading man and associate director of Ottawa's Canadian Repertory Theatre (1951-52).
Hutt joined the Stratford Festival in its inaugural 1953 season and was the first to win the Tyrone Guthrie Award the following summer. Since then, he has been almost continuously associated with the festival as an actor, director and associate director.
Hutt has been the recipient of many honours and awards. He won the Centennial Medal in 1967 and was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1969. Appointed an associate director of Stratford in 1969-70, from 1976 to 1979 he served as artistic director of Theatre London (Ontario).
Hutt is versatile and productive in the theatrical world. In 1975 he astounded Stratford audiences with the veracity of his comic interpretation of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. In the same year he won ACTRA and Canadian Film awards for his portrayal of Sir John A. Macdonald in CBC's telecast of Pierre Berton's The National Dream.
In 1992 he was honoured with both the Order of Ontario and the Governor General's first Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Canadian Theatre.
A recipient of the 1995 Artistic Director's Award, William Hutt's extensive career has included appearances on Broadway, in the West End, and in theatres across Great Britain, Europe, Australia, and the United States. He was for four seasons Artistic Director of the Grand Theatre, London.
He has honorary doctorates from the universities of Guelph, Western Ontario and McMaster. In 1996 he received Britain's Sam Wannamaker Award for his outstanding contributions to the world of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre.
In 1997 Hutt played - to great acclaim - the role of James Tyrone in the film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. In the same year the CBC saluted him with Harry Rasky's television portrait, William Hutt: A Fortunate Man.
In 1998 William received the Shakespeare Globe's Sam Wanamaker Award for most outstanding contribution to the world of Elizabethan and Jacobean theatre. William Hutt also holds honorary doctorates from six major Canadian universities.
In 2000 he directed Maxim Mazumdar's Oscar Remembered for Stratford at the Tom Patterson theatre. In the same year the City of Stratford rechristened the Waterloo Bridge in his name to celebrate his 80th birthday.
