Hunter was born in Los Angeles, the son of British Screenwriter Ian McLellan Hunter. He attended Harvard University, graduating in 1968.
In 1993, he refused to cede his late father's Academy Award for the 1953 screenplay to Roman Holiday. Hunter's father had received credit for writing Roman Holiday following an arrangement with the true Writer, Dalton Trumbo, who was prevented from selling his work due to the Hollywood blacklist. Subsequently, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Trumbo's widow a compensatory award.
