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IMDbPro

Bill Pullman(I)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000111
Bill Pullman in Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Trailer
Play trailer2:22
The High Note (2020)
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
William James Pullman was born in Hornell, New York, one of seven children of Johanna (Blaas), a nurse, and James Pullman, a doctor. He is of Dutch (mother) and English, Northern Irish, and Scottish (father) descent. After high school, Bill went into a building construction program at SUNY Delhi in New York. He transferred to State University of New York College at Oneonta where he received his BA in Theater. He received both his MFA in Theater/Directing and an honorary PHD from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While teaching Directing at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, one of Bill's students was the soon-to-be film director John Dahl, who later cast Mr. Pullman in "The Last Seduction".

Moving to New York City, he worked with Kathy Bates in the acclaimed stage production of "Curse of the Starving Class". However, it was his first work in three strikingly diverse films that brought him to the attention of his audience: "Ruthless People" with Danny DeVito and Bette Milder, the Mel Brooks hit "Spaceballs" and the Oscar-nominated (and winner for Best Supporting Actress Geena Davis) "The Accidental Tourist". Still attracted to the art and study of building construction, Bill has designed and/or restored three "barns": In Montana, he converted a 1933 barn at his ranch into his family home. In Los Angeles, he built a Truss barn in the style of LA's 1910 fruit storage barns. In western New York State, he restored a '3-bay' barn that sometimes serves as a community center near his hometown of Hornell, New York. Focused more on neighborhoods than show business-based charities and societies, Pullman has defined himself by his work with his local communities. He works to bridge communities of Los Angeles through his board work with Cornerstone Theater. Pullman continues to work with his neighbors who formed "Concerned Citizens Montana" to secure a place at the table regarding the national need for a smart grid for energy transmission. He also works with the local university (Alfred University, New York) as well as supports local health services ("The Pullman Women's Health and Birthing Center" at St James Hospital, Hornell, NY).

Pullman is also an MS Society Ambassador. Based in Los Angeles, New York City and Western Montana, Pullman is married to dancer Tamara Hurwitz Pullman, and they have three children, daughter singer/songwriter Maesa Rae and multi-talented sons Jack and Lewis Pullman, who is now also an actor.
BornDecember 17, 1953
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornDecember 17, 1953
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000111
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos327

Bill Pullman, Peter Boyle, Glynis Johns, Monica Keena, Micole Mercurio, and Jack Warden in While You Were Sleeping (1995)
Bill Pullman in Part V (2021)
Bill Pullman in Part I (2021)
Bill Pullman in Part VIII (2020)
Bill Pullman in Part VI (2020)
Bill Pullman and Jessica Hecht in Part III (2020)
Bill Pullman in Part I (2020)
Bill Pullman in Saturday Night Live (1975)
Bill Pullman, Natalie Paul, and Nastasha Strang in The Sinner (2017)
Bill Pullman and Uly Schlesinger in The Sinner (2017)
Bill Pullman and Kiran Merchant in The Sinner (2017)
Bill Pullman in The Sinner (2017)

Known for

Independence Day (1996)
Independence Day
7.0
  • President Thomas J. Whitmore
  • 1996
Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
Independence Day: Resurgence
5.2
  • President Whitmore
  • 2016
Mel Brooks, Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Daphne Zuniga in Spaceballs (1987)
Spaceballs
7.1
  • Lone Starr
  • 1987
Patricia Arquette and Bill Pullman in Lost Highway (1997)
Lost Highway
7.6
  • Fred Madison
  • 1997

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Bill Pullman and Alice Kremelberg in The Sinner (2017)
    The Sinner
  • Ewan McGregor and Gian Franco Rodriguez in Halston (2021)
    Halston
  • Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross in The High Note (2020)
    The High Note
  • Mark Ruffalo in Dark Waters (2019)
    Dark Waters
  • Bill Pullman in The Coldest Game (2019)
    The Coldest Game
  • Sally Field and Bill Pullman in National Theatre Live: All My Sons (2019)
    National Theatre Live: All My Sons
  • Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Ashton Sanders in The Equalizer 2 (2018)
    The Equalizer 2
  • Elisabeth Shue, Bill Pullman, Steve Carell, Sarah Silverman, and Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes (2017)
    Battle of the Sexes
  • Bill Pullman and Anjelica Huston in Trouble (2017)
    Trouble
  • A Thousand Junkies (2017)
    A Thousand Junkies
  • Bill Pullman in The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)
    The Ballad of Lefty Brown
  • Bill Pullman, Matt Bomer, and Josh Wiggins in Walking Out (2017)
    Walking Out
  • Woody Harrelson in LBJ (2016)
    LBJ
  • Bill Pullman, Rita Wilson, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, and Gillian Jacobs in Brother Nature (2016)
    Brother Nature
  • Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)
    Independence Day: Resurgence

Director

  • Paul Guilfoyle and Henry Rollins in Night Visions (2001)
    Night Visions
    • (segment A View Through the Window)
  • Diane Lane and Bill Pullman in The Virginian (2000)
    The Virginian

Producer

  • Diane Lane and Bill Pullman in The Virginian (2000)
    The Virginian

Videos110

Bill Pullman on His Tortured Role in "The Sinner" and His Scariest Co-Star Ever
Full Episode 8:21
Bill Pullman on His Tortured Role in "The Sinner" and His Scariest Co-Star Ever
Surveillance
Clip 3:03
Surveillance
Surveillance
Clip 2:02
Surveillance
Phoebe in Wonderland: "The Performance"
Clip 1:43
Phoebe in Wonderland: "The Performance"
Phoebe in Wonderland: "The Red Queen"
Clip 1:13
Phoebe in Wonderland: "The Red Queen"
Phoebe in Wonderland: "Be More Dramatic"
Clip 0:54
Phoebe in Wonderland: "Be More Dramatic"
Independence Day
Clip 1:35
Independence Day
Independence Day
Clip 1:11
Independence Day
While You Were Sleeping
Clip 1:05
While You Were Sleeping
While You Were Sleeping
Clip 1:29
While You Were Sleeping
Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
Clip 1:08
Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition
Clip 0:55
Newsies: 20th Anniversary Edition

Personal details

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    • Facebook
    • Official Site
    • December 17, 1953
    • Hornell, New York, USA
    • Tamara PullmanJanuary 3, 1987 - present (3 children)
    • Maesa Pullman
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Played Martin, with Mercedes Ruehl, in "The Goat" by Edward Albee, on Broadway, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Interviews
    • 5 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Lost his sense of smell after a head injury and two-day coma.
  • Quotes
    [on watching Independence Day (1996) with President Bill Clinton] Oh, great. This is going to be like shooting baskets with Magic Johnson watching.
    • Gravelly voice

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