Bill Pullman

William James Pullman (born December 17, 1953) is an American actor. He made his film debut in the 1986 film Ruthless People, and has since gone on to star in other films, such as Spaceballs (1987), The Accidental Tourist (1988), Sleepless In Seattle (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Casper (1995), Independence Day (1996), Lost Highway (1997) and Lake Placid (1999). He has also appeared regularly on television, usually in TV films, though starting in the 2000s he has also starred in miniseries and regular series, including starring roles in 1600 Penn (2012–13) and The Sinner (2017-present).
Pullman has also had a long stage acting career, and has appeared on Broadway several times, including in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?in 2002.
== Early life ==
Pullman was born in Hornell, New York, the son of James Pullman, a physician, and his wife Johanna (née Blaas), a nurse.[citation needed]
After graduating from Hornell High School in 1971, he attended the State University of New York at Delhi (SUNY Delhi)[1] and the State University of New York at Oneonta in the 1970s. He eventually received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Pullman taught theater at SUNY Delhi[1] and Montana State University's School of Film and Photography, where he was persuaded by his students to attempt film.[citation needed]
== Career ==
During the 1980s, he primarily worked with theater companies around New York and Los Angeles. His first prominent film role was in Ruthless People (which starred Danny DeVito and Bette Midler). Other notable films included the lead in Spaceballs (1987), The Serpent and the Rainbow (with Zakes Mokae), and While You Were Sleeping (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.. His more recent films have included The Grudge and Scary Movie 4. He also starred along with Christian Bale in the musical Newsies.
From February 2001 until February 2002, Pullman starred with Mercedes Ruehl, in Edward Albee's play The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? on Broadway. The play won several awards: 2002 Tony Award for Best Play; 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play; 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. Pullman starred in Albee's play Peter and Jerry, at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre in New York. For his performance, Pullman received a second Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play in 2008.
In addition to acting, Pullman is a creative writer. His first play, Expedition 6, is about the International Space Station mission Expedition 6 that was in orbit at the time that the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed on reentry, grounding the U.S. space shuttle program, which was to provide the vehicle for the crew's return to earth. The play opened at San Francisco's Magic Theater in September 2007.[2]
He also appeared in the Broadway production of David Mamet's Oleanna, co-starring Julia Stiles.[3] The production opened at the John Golden Theatre October 11, 2009, and closed on December 6, 2009, playing 65 performances.[4]
He is also a Jury Member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.[5]
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),[6] the former of which began airing in July 2011. For his performance as Danes, Pullman received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor on Television.[7]
From 2012-13, Pullman portrayed the President of the United States in the television comedy series 1600 Penn.
He plays Detective Harry Ambrose in the USA Network mystery series The Sinner, which aired its first season in 2017 and has been renewed for a second season.
== Personal life ==
Pullman is married to Tamara Hurwitz, a modern dancer,[8][9][10] Their three children are actor Lewis Pullman[11] singer-songwriter Maesa Pullman,[12] and Jack Pullman.[13][14] At the age of 21, Pullman suffered a head injury and lost his sense of smell.[15] He co-owns a cattle ranch with his brother in Montana, near the town of Whitehall, where he lives part-time.[16] He also serves on the Board of Trustees at Alfred University[17] and was awarded an honorary doctorate on May 14, 2011.[8]
== Filmography ==
Film
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1986	Ruthless People 	Earl Mott 	
1987	Spaceballs 	Lone Starr 	
1988	The Serpent and the Rainbow 	Dennis Alan 	
1988	Rocket Gibraltar 	Crow Black 	
1988	The Accidental Tourist 	Julian 	
1989	Cold Feet 	Buck Latham 	
1990	Brain Dead 	Dr. Rex Martin 	
1990	Sibling Rivalry 	Nicholas Meany 	
1990	Bright Angel 	Bob 	
1990	Going Under 	Biff Banner 	
1991	Liebestraum 	Paul Kessler 	
1992	Nervous Ticks 	York Daley 	
1992	Newsies 	Bryan Denton 	
1992	A League of Their Own 	Bob Hinson 	
1992	Singles 	Doctor Jamison 	
1993	Sommersby 	Orin Meecham 	
1993	Sleepless in Seattle 	Walter 	
1993	Malice 	Andy Safian 	
1993	Mr. Jones 	Construction Site Foreman 	Uncredited cameo
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 	'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 	Det. 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 	
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 	
2018	Vice 	Nelson Rockefeller 	In post-production
Television
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1986 	Cagney & Lacey 	Doctor 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
2001 	Night Visions 	Major Ben Darnell 	Episode: "A View Through the Window"
2004 	Tiger Cruise 	Cmdr. 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
Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television
2012–13	1600 Penn 	President Dale Gilchrist	13 episodes
2017–18	The Sinner 	Detective Harry Ambrose 	Main cast - 16 episodes
Category:American male film actors