# Bill Pullman

William Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater, he was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before deciding to pursue acting.
Pullman made his film debut in Ruthless People (1986), and starred in Spaceballs (1987), The Accidental Tourist and The Serpent and the Rainbow (both 1988), Newsies (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Wyatt Earp (1994), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Independence Day (1996), Lost Highway (1997), and Lake Placid (1998). He also voiced as Captain Joseph Korso in Titan A.E. in (2000). He has also appeared frequently on television, usually in TV films. Since the 21st century began in 2001, Pullman also acted in miniseries and regular series, such as Torchwood (2011), starring roles in 1600 Penn (2012–13) and The Sinner (2017–2021). In 2021, he had a recurring role in the miniseries Halston.
Pullman also has a long stage acting career. He has appeared on Broadway several times, including in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002).

## Early life and education

Pullman was born December 17, 1953, in Hornell, New York, the son of James Pullman Jr. (1914–1992), a physician, and Johanna Wilamina Pullman (née Blaas; 1911–1993), a nurse.
After graduating from Hornell High School in 1971, he attended the State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi) and the State University of New York at Oneonta (SUNY Oneonta) in the 1970s, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Studies from the latter in 1975. He eventually received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1980. He taught theater at SUNY Delhi and was an adjunct professor at Montana State University's School of Film and Photography in Bozeman, Montana, where his students persuaded him to pursue film roles.

## Career

During the 1980s, Pullman worked primarily with theater companies around New York and Los Angeles. His first prominent film role was in Ruthless People, starring Danny DeVito and Bette Midler. Other notable films included the lead in Spaceballs (1987), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) (with Zakes Mokae), A League of Their Own (1992), Malice (1993), Casper and While You Were Sleeping (both 1995). In 1996, he played the President of the United States in the sci-fi film Independence Day. A year later he had a major role in Lost Highway (1997) and voiced Korso in the animated post-apocalyptic film Titan A.E.
From February 2002 until September 2002, Pullman starred with Mercedes Ruehl in Edward Albee's play The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? on Broadway. It won the 2002 Tony 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 miniseries Revelations and in Albee's play Peter and Jerry at off-Broadway's Second 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 the International Space Station mission Expedition 6, in orbit at the time the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed 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.
He also appeared in the Broadway production of David Mamet's Oleanna, co-starring Julia Stiles. It opened at the John Golden Theatre October 11, 2009, and closed on December 6, 2009, after 65 performances.
He is a jury member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.
Pullman played Oswald Danes, a pedophile and child killer, in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of the BBC/Starz Entertainment television show Torchwood (a spinoff to the BBC series Doctor Who), the former of which began airing in July 2011. For his performance as Danes, he received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television.
From 2012 to 2013, Pullman portrayed the president of the United States in the television comedy series 1600 Penn. He played detective Harry Ambrose in the USA Network mystery series The Sinner, which premiered in 2017 and has aired for four seasons.
In 2023 Pullman portrayed Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son. The two-part Lifetime series Murdaugh Murders: The Movie premiered on 14 October.

## Personal life

Pullman is married to Tamara Hurwitz, a modern dancer. Their three children are actor Lewis Pullman, singer-songwriter Maesa Pullman, and Jack Pullman.
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. He is an avid Buffalo Bills fan. He co-owns a cattle ranch with his brother in Montana, near the town of Whitehall, where he lives part-time. He also serves on the board of trustees at Alfred University and was awarded an honorary doctorate there on May 14, 2011. In 2018, he received an honorary doctorate from Montana State University, where he was formerly employed.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Ruthless People | Earl Mott | |
| 1987 | Spaceballs | Lone Starr | |
| 1988 | The Serpent and the Rainbow | Dr. Dennis Alan | |
| 1988 | Rocket Gibraltar | Crow Black | |
| 1988 | The Accidental Tourist | Julian Edge | |
| 1989 | Cold Feet | Buck Latham | |
| 1990 | Brain Dead | Dr. Rex Martin | |
| 1990 | Sibling Rivalry | Nicholas Meany | |
| 1990 | Bright Angel | Bob | |
| 1991 | Liebestraum | Paul Kessler | |
| 1991 | Going Under | Biff Banner | |
| 1992 | Nervous Ticks | York Daley | |
| 1992 | Newsies | Bryan Denton | |
| 1992 | A League of Their Own | Bob Hinson | |
| 1992 | Singles | Dr. Jamison | |
| 1993 | Sommersby | Orin Meecham | |
| 1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | Walter Jackson | |
| 1993 | Malice | Andy Safian | |
| 1993 | Mr. Jones | Construction Site Foreman | Uncredited |
| 1994 | The Favor | Peter Whiting | |
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | Ed Masterson | |
| 1994 | The Last Seduction | Clay Gregory | |
| 1995 | While You Were Sleeping | Jack Callaghan | |
| 1995 | Casper | Dr. James Harvey | |
| 1996 | Mr. Wrong | Whitman Crawford | |
| 1996 | Independence Day | President Thomas J. Whitmore | |
| 1997 | Lost Highway | Fred Madison | |
| 1997 | The End of Violence | Mike Max | |
| 1998 | Zero Effect | Daryl Zero | |
| 1999 | Lake Placid | Jack Wells | |
| 1999 | Brokedown Palace | Hank "Yankee Hank" Green | |
| 1999 | Spy Games | Harry Howe / Ernie Halliday | |
| 2000 | The Guilty | Callum Crane | |
| 2000 | Titan A.E. | Captain Joseph Korso | Voice |
| 2000 | Lucky Numbers | Detective Pat Lakewood | |
| 2000 | A Man Is Mostly Water | Parking Fascist | |
| 2001 | Ignition | Conor Gallagher | |
| 2002 | 29 Palms | The Ticket Clerk | |
| 2002 | 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 | |
| 2006 | Alien Autopsy | Morgan Banner | |
| 2007 | Nobel Son | Max Mariner | |
| 2007 | You Kill Me | Dave | |
| 2008 | Surveillance | Sam Hallaway | |
| 2008 | Bottle Shock | Jim Barrett | |
| 2008 | Phoebe in Wonderland | Peter Lichten | |
| 2008 | Your Name Here | William J. Frick | |
| 2010 | Peacock | Edmund French | |
| 2010 | The Killer Inside Me | Billy Bob Walker | |
| 2010 | Rio Sex Comedy | William | |
| 2011 | Bringing Up Bobby | Kent | |
| 2012 | Lola Versus | Lenny | |
| 2013 | The Unbelievers | Himself | |
| 2014 | Red Sky | Captain John Webster | |
| 2014 | Cymbeline | Sicilius Leonatus | |
| 2014 | The Equalizer | Brian Plummer | |
| 2015 | American Ultra | Raymond Krueger | |
| 2016 | Independence Day: Resurgence | Former President Thomas J. Whitmore | |
| 2016 | LBJ | Senator Ralph Yarborough | |
| 2016 | Brother Nature | Jerry Turley | |
| 2017 | Walking Out | Clyde | |
| 2017 | The Ballad of Lefty Brown | "Lefty" Brown | |
| 2017 | Trouble | Ben | |
| 2017 | Battle of the Sexes | Jack Kramer | |
| 2018 | The Equalizer 2 | Brian Plummer | |
| 2019 | The Coldest Game | Joshua Mansky | |
| 2019 | Dark Waters | Harry Dietzler | |
| 2020 | The High Note | Max | |
| TBA | Famous | | Post-production |

### Television

| 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 | Movie |
| 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 | Movie |
| 2011 | Innocent | Rusty Sabich | Movie |
| 2011 | 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" |
| 2023 | Murdaugh Murders: The Movie | Alex Murdaugh | 2 episodes |
| TBA | The Boroughs | | Filming |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre |
| 2002 | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Martin | John Golden Theatre |
| 2009 | Oleanna | John | John Golden Theatre |
| 2012 | The Other Place | Ian | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre |
| 2015 | The Jacksonian | Fred Weber | Theatre Three at Theatre Row |
| 2019 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | Old Vic Theatre |
| 2022 | Mad House | Daniel | Ambassadors Theatre |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result |
| 1997 | Online Film & Television Association | Independence Day | Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Actor | Nominated |
| 2001 | Western Heritage Awards | The Virginian | Television Feature Film | Won |
| 2008 | CineVegas International Film Festival | Your Name Here | Special Jury Prize | Won |
| 2008 | Denver International Film Festival | Himself | John Cassavetes Award | Won |
| 2008 | RiverRun International Film Festival | Himself | Master of Cinema | Won |
| 2012 | Saturn Awards | Torchwood: Miracle Day | Best Supporting Actor on Television | Nominated |
| 2016 | CinemaCon Award | Independence Day: Resurgence | Ensemble of the Universe | Won |
| 2016 | Locarno International Film Festival | Himself | Excellence Award | Won |
| 2017 | Woodstock Film Festival | Himself | Excellence in Acting Award | Won |
| 2018 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | The Sinner | Best Actor in a Movie/Miniseries | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | The Sinner | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series | Nominated |
| 2019 | Saturn Awards | The Sinner | Best Actor on Television | Nominated |