Bill Pullman

Bill Pullman
Pullman filming The Fruit Hunters in 2011
Born	William James Pullman (1953-12-17) December 17, 1953 (age 63) Hornell, New York, United States
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Tamara Hurwitz (m. 1987)
Children	3

William James "Bill" 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), While You Were Sleeping (1995), Casper (1995), Independence Day (1996) and Lost Highway (1997). He has also appeared regularly on television, usually in films and miniseries, though he also had a starring role in the one-season show 1600 Penn.

Pullman was born in Hornell, New York, the son of James Pullman, a physician, and his wife Johanna (née Blaas), a nurse. His father is of English ancestry, and his mother is of Dutch ancestry.

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 in the 1970s. He eventually received his Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Pullman taught theater at SUNY Delhi and Montana State University's School of Film and Photography, where he was persuaded by his students to attempt film.

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 disaster 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.