William Hurt joins growing cast of 'Hulk'

LOS ANGELES, June 13 (UPI) -- Actor William Hurt has signed onto the cast of the film "The Incredible Hulk," marking the most recent recognizable name to join the Hollywood production.

Since "Fight Club" star Edward Norton signed on to play the Hulk's alter-ego Bruce Banner in the film, film stars such as Tim Roth, Liv Tyler and now Hurt have signed onto the comic book-based project, Zap2it.com reported Wednesday.

"Transporter 2" director Louis Leterrier has tabbed the action film as a fresh take on the comic book hero and distanced his production from the director Ang Lee's 2003 film "Hulk."

While Tyler will take on Banner's love interest in the film and Roth will play his main adversary, Hurt has been tabbed to play "Thunderbolt" Ross.

In the "Hulk" comics, "Thunderbolt" is the father of Banner's girlfriend Betsy Ross and a military officer who is dedicated to capturing the film's green-skinned lead.

Since earning his fourth Academy Award nomination for "A History of Violence," Hurt has taken on roles in "Mr. Brooks," "Vantage Point" and "The Good Shepherd."

The Web site said filming on the new "Hulk" film is to begin this summer.