In 1984, Hurst won the lead role of David Blyth's Death Warmed Up, New Zealand's first splatter movie. The plot saw Hurst's character weathering institutionalisation, sundry wackos, and a motorcycle chase in the tunnels below Waiheke Island. The film won the grand prize at a fantasy film festival in Paris. The same year Hurst began playing Drummer Dave Nelson over two series of Heroes, about a band searching for fame.
Crime thriller Dangerous Orphans (1986) is the first film in which Hurst co-starred with real-life partner Jennifer Ward-Lealand (he had already acted with her on-stage). Hurst was one of three grown orphans caught up in a mission to one-up various Criminal figures; Ward-Lealand played romantic interest to one of the other orphans.
He married New Zealand Actress Jennifer Ward-Lealand in 1988. They have two sons: Jack Louis Ward Hurst, born in 1997, and Cameron Lane Ward Hurst, born in 1999.
Hurst would work with Ward-Lealand again on his next three features, 1992's The Footstep Man, 1993's Desperate Remedies, and 1999's I'll Make You Happy. In 1993, he starred alongside Australian Sophie Lee and Brit Greg Wise in TV thriller Typhon's People. Hurst played a European mystery man uncovering the truth behind corporate genetic meddling. The script was by author Margaret Mahy.
In 2003, Hurst was awarded an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award. He was later designated an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 "for services to film and the theatre".
In 2015, after critically acclaimed runs in New Zealand and at the 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Hurst directed The Generation of Z: Apocalypse at a purpose-built venue in East London between 4 April 2015 to July 2015. Hurst stated, "A lot of the reviews have said 'immersive theatre into overdrive'. 'Video game, only live.' It has those qualities. There are choices where the audience can affect the outcome of scenes which is quite a new thing. It flows very easily depending on which choice they make."
