Bill Pullman | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Pullman in 2014 | |
| Born | William Pullman (1953-12-17)December 17, 1953 (age 71) Hornell, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | SUNY Delhi (attended) SUNY Oneonta (BA, 1975) University of Massachusetts Amherst (MFA, 1980) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingLewis |
William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with aMaster of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor atMontana State University before deciding to pursue acting.
Pullman made his film debut inRuthless People (1986), and starred inSpaceballs (1987),The Accidental Tourist andThe Serpent and the Rainbow (both 1988),Newsies (1992),Sleepless in Seattle (1993),Wyatt Earp (1994),Casper,While You Were Sleeping (both 1995),Independence Day (1996),Lost Highway (1997), andLake Placid (1999). He also voiced Captain Joseph Korso inTitan A.E. in (2000). He has also appeared frequently on television, usually in TV films. Since the 21st century began, Pullman has also acted in miniseries and regular series such asTorchwood (2011), playing starring roles in1600 Penn (2012–13) andThe Sinner (2017–2021). In 2021, he had a recurring role in the miniseriesHalston.
Pullman also has a long stage acting career. He has appeared onBroadway several times, including inEdward Albee'sThe Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002).
Pullman was born December 17, 1953, inHornell, New York, the son of James Pullman Jr. (1914–1992), a physician, and Johanna Wilamina Pullman (née Blaas; 1911–1993), a nurse, and is of Dutch, English and Irish ancestry.[1]
After graduating from Hornell High School in 1971, he attended theState University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi)[2] and theState University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta) in the 1970s, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree inTheater Studies from the latter in 1975. He eventually received hisMaster of Fine Arts degree from theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst in 1980. He taught theater at SUNY Delhi[2] and was an adjunct professor atMontana State University's School of Film and Photography inBozeman, Montana, where his students persuaded him to pursue film roles.[3]
During the 1980s, Pullman worked primarily with theater companies around New York and Los Angeles. His first prominent film role was inRuthless People, starringDanny DeVito andBette Midler. Other notable films included the lead inSpaceballs (1987),The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) (withZakes Mokae),A League of Their Own (1992),Malice (1993),Casper andWhile You Were Sleeping (both 1995). In 1996, he played the President of the United States in the sci-fi filmIndependence Day. A year later he had a major role inLost Highway (1997) and voiced Korso in the animated post-apocalyptic filmTitan A.E.
From February 2002 until September 2002, Pullman starred withMercedes Ruehl inEdward Albee's playThe Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? onBroadway. It won the 2002Tony Award for Best Play, the 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play, and the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Pullman was nominated for the 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play.
He starred as Dr. Richard Massey in the 2005 miniseriesRevelations. He appeared in Albee's playPeter and Jerry atoff-Broadway'sSecond Stage Theatre in New York for which he received a second Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 2008.
Pullman is also a creative writer. His first play,Expedition 6, is about theInternational Space Station missionExpedition 6, in orbit at the time theSpace ShuttleColumbia wasdestroyed on reentry, grounding the U.S.Space Shuttle program and requiring the ISS crew to remain in orbit an additional two months. The play opened at San Francisco's Magic Theater in September 2007.[4]
He also appeared in the Broadway production ofDavid Mamet'sOleanna, co-starringJulia Stiles.[5] It opened at the John Golden Theatre October 11, 2009, and closed on December 6, 2009, after 65 performances.[6]
He is a jury member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.[7]
Pullman playedOswald Danes, apedophile and child killer, inTorchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of theBBC/Starz Entertainment television showTorchwood (a spinoff to the BBC seriesDoctor Who),[8] the former of which began airing in July 2011. For his performance as Danes, he received aSaturn Award nomination forBest Supporting Actor on Television.[9]
From 2012 to 2013, Pullman portrayed the president of the United States in the television comedy series1600 Penn. He played detective Harry Ambrose in theUSA Network mystery seriesThe Sinner, which premiered in 2017 and has aired for four seasons.
In 2023, Pullman portrayedAlex Murdaugh, a South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son. The two-partLifetime seriesMurdaugh Murders: The Movie premiered on 14 October.[10][11] In June 2025, Pullman was announced to reprise the role of Lone Star in the sequel toSpaceballs, which is scheduled for release in 2027, and that he would be co-starring alongside his sonLewis Pullman.[12]
Pullman is married to Tamara Hurwitz, amodern dancer.[13][14][15] Their three children are actorLewis Pullman,[16] singer-songwriter Maesa Pullman,[17] and Jack Pullman.[18][19]
At the age of 21, Pullman suffered a head injury when he fell while rehearsing a play, and lost his sense of smell and the feeling in his left elbow.[20] He is an avidBuffalo Bills fan.[21] He co-owns a cattle ranch with his brother in Montana, near the town ofWhitehall, where he lives part-time.[22] He also serves on the board of trustees atAlfred University[23] and was awarded an honorary doctorate there on May 14, 2011.[13] In 2018, he received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University, where he was formerly employed.[3]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Ruthless People | Earl Mott | |
| 1987 | Spaceballs | Lone Starr | |
| 1988 | The Serpent and the Rainbow | Dr. Dennis Alan | |
| Rocket Gibraltar | Crow Black | ||
| The Accidental Tourist | Julian Edge | ||
| 1989 | Cold Feet | Buck Latham | |
| 1990 | Brain Dead | Dr. Rex Martin | |
| Sibling Rivalry | Nicholas Meany | ||
| Bright Angel | Bob | ||
| 1991 | Liebestraum | Paul Kessler | |
| Going Under | Biff Banner | ||
| 1992 | Nervous Ticks | York Daley | |
| Newsies | Bryan Denton | ||
| A League of Their Own | Bob Hinson | ||
| Singles | Dr. Jamison | ||
| 1993 | Sommersby | Orin Meecham | |
| Sleepless in Seattle | Walter Jackson | ||
| Malice | Andy Safian | ||
| Mr. Jones | Construction Site Foreman | Uncredited | |
| 1994 | The Favor | Peter Whiting | |
| Wyatt Earp | Ed Masterson | ||
| The Last Seduction | Clay Gregory | ||
| 1995 | While You Were Sleeping | Jack Callaghan | |
| Casper | Dr. James Harvey | ||
| 1996 | Mr. Wrong | Whitman Crawford | |
| Independence Day | President Thomas J. Whitmore | ||
| 1997 | Lost Highway | Fred Madison | |
| The End of Violence | Mike Max | ||
| 1998 | Zero Effect | Daryl Zero | |
| 1999 | Lake Placid | Jack Wells | |
| Brokedown Palace | Hank "Yankee Hank" Green | ||
| Spy Games | Harry Howe / Ernie Halliday | ||
| 2000 | The Guilty | Callum Crane | |
| Titan A.E. | Captain Joseph Korso | Voice | |
| Lucky Numbers | Detective Pat Lakewood | ||
| A Man Is Mostly Water | Parking Fascist | ||
| 2001 | Ignition | Conor Gallagher | |
| 2002 | 29 Palms | The Ticket Clerk | |
| Igby Goes Down | Jason Slocumb | ||
| 2003 | Rick | Rick O'Lette | |
| 2004 | The Grudge | Peter Kirk | |
| 2005 | Dear Wendy | Officer Krugsby | |
| 2006 | Scary Movie 4 | Henry Hale | |
| Alien Autopsy | Morgan Banner | ||
| 2007 | Nobel Son | Max Mariner | |
| You Kill Me | Dave | ||
| 2008 | Surveillance | Sam Hallaway | |
| Bottle Shock | Jim Barrett | ||
| Phoebe in Wonderland | Peter Lichten | ||
| Your Name Here | William J. Frick | ||
| 2010 | Peacock | Edmund French | |
| The Killer Inside Me | Billy Bob Walker | ||
| Rio Sex Comedy | William | ||
| 2011 | Bringing Up Bobby | Kent | |
| 2012 | Lola Versus | Lenny | |
| 2013 | The Unbelievers | Himself | |
| 2014 | Red Sky | Captain John Webster | |
| Cymbeline | Sicilius Leonatus | ||
| The Equalizer | Brian Plummer | ||
| 2015 | American Ultra | Raymond Krueger | |
| 2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Former President Thomas J. Whitmore | |
| LBJ | Senator Ralph Yarborough | ||
| Brother Nature | Jerry Turley | ||
| 2017 | Walking Out | Clyde | |
| The Ballad of Lefty Brown | "Lefty" Brown | ||
| Trouble | Ben | ||
| Battle of the Sexes | Jack Kramer | ||
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Brian Plummer | |
| 2019 | The Coldest Game | Joshua Mansky | |
| Dark Waters | Harry Dietzler | ||
| 2020 | The High Note | Max | |
| 2025 | Killing Faith | Preacher Ross | |
| 2027 | Spaceballs 2† | Lone Starr | Filming |
| TBA | Famous† | Post-production | |
| Everybody Digs Bill Evans† |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Cagney & Lacey | Dr. Giordano | Episode: "A Safe Place" |
| 1989 | Home Fires Burning | Henry Tibbets | Movie |
| 1990 | The Tracey Ullman Show | Sheldon Moss | Episode: "The Word" |
| 1992 | Crazy in Love | Nick Symonds | Movie |
| 1995 | Fallen Angels | Rich Thurber | Episode: "Tomorrow I Die" |
| 1996 | Mistrial | Steve Donohue | Movie |
| 1997 | Merry Christmas, George Bailey | George Bailey | |
| 2000 | The Virginian | The Virginian | Movie; also producer/director |
| 2001 | Night Visions | Major Ben Darnell | Episode: "A View Through the Window" |
| 2004 | Tiger Cruise | Commander Gary Dolan | Movie |
| 2005 | Revelations | Richard Massey | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kurt Moss | Episode: "Closet" |
| 2010 | Nathan vs. Nature | Arthur | Movie |
| 2011 | Too Big to Fail | Jamie Dimon | |
| Innocent | Rusty Sabich | ||
| Torchwood: Miracle Day | Oswald Danes | 8 episodes | |
| 2012–2013 | 1600 Penn | President Dale Gilchrist | 13 episodes |
| 2017–2021 | The Sinner | Detective Harry Ambrose | Main cast; 32 episodes |
| 2021 | Halston | David J. Mahoney | 3 episodes |
| 2023 | This Fool | Curtis | Episode: "The Bigger Man"[24] |
| Murdaugh Murders: The Movie | Alex Murdaugh | 2 episodes | |
| TBA | The Boroughs | Jack | Upcoming series[25] |
| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Martin | John Golden Theatre |
| 2007 | Peter and Jerry | Peter | Second Stage Theatre |
| 2009 | Oleanna | John | John Golden Theatre |
| 2012 | The Other Place | Ian | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre |
| 2014 | Sticks and Bones | Ozzie | Pershing Square Signature Center |
| 2015 | Othello | Othello | Den Nationale Scene |
| 2015 | The Jacksonian | Fred Weber | Theatre Three at Theatre Row |
| 2019 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | Old Vic Theatre[26] |
| 2022 | Mad House | Daniel | Ambassadors Theatre |
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