The son of actor Jim Hutton, he was born in Malibu, California. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1980 for Ordinary People.

While never equaling that success as a mature actor, Hutton has had numerous popular roles in films such as Taps (1981), French Kiss (1995), The General's Daughter (1999), Sunshine State (2002), and Secret Window (2004) (also starring Johnny Depp).

Hutton played detective Archie Goodwin in the TV series Nero Wolfe (2001-2002), of which he was also executive producer, and has acted in TV miniseries such as WW3 (2001). He has also tried his hand at directing, with the family film Digging To China (1998).

Hutton has been married twice. His first marriage was to actress Debra Winger (1986-90), which produced a son, Noah.

In 2000, he married his current wife, Aurore, who is the niece of former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. They have a son, Milo.