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. He made his film debut in Ruthless People (1986), and starred in 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 appeared frequently on television, usually in TV films. Starting in the 2000s he has 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.
Known For
The Equalizer 2
(2018)
Brian Plummer
The Equalizer
(2014)
Brian Plummer
Malice
(1993)
Andy Sarafian
Independence Day
(1996)
President Thomas J. Whitmore
Independence Day: Resurgence
(2016)
President Whitmore
Spaceballs
(1987)
Lone Starr
Scary Movie 4
(2006)
Henry Hale
The Grudge
(2004)
Peter Kirk
Casper
(1995)
Dr. James Harvey
A League of Their Own
(1992)
Bob Hinson
Sleepless in Seattle
(1993)
Walter
Lost Highway
(1997)
Fred Madison
Dark Waters
(2019)
Harry Dietzler
Brokedown Palace
(1999)
Hank Greene
While You Were Sleeping
(1995)
Jack Callaghan
Wyatt Earp
(1994)
Ed Masterson
Full Filmography
Acting
Ruthless People
(1986)
Earl James Mott
Spaceballs
(1987)
Lone Starr
The Serpent and the Rainbow
(1988)
Dennis Alan
The Accidental Tourist
(1988)
Julian Hedge
Rocket Gibraltar
(1988)
Crow Black
Cold Feet
(1989)
Buck
Home Fires Burning
(1989)
Lt. Henry Tibbettes
Brain Dead
(1990)
Dr. Rex Martin
Bright Angel
(1990)
Bob
Sibling Rivalry
(1990)
Nicholas Meany
Liebestraum
(1991)
Paul Kessler
Going Under
(1991)
Biff Banner
Blood Drips Heavily on Newsie Square
(1991)
Himself
Singles
(1992)
Dr. Jeffrey Jamison
Newsies
(1992)
Bryan Denton
Crazy in Love
(1992)
Nick Symonds
Nervous Ticks
(1992)
York Daley
A League of Their Own
(1992)
Bob Hinson
Phone
(1992)
Duke
Sleepless in Seattle
(1993)
Walter
Sommersby
(1993)
Orin Meecham
Malice
(1993)
Andy Sarafian
Mr. Jones
(1993)
Construction Site Foreman
The Last Seduction
(1994)
Clay Gregory
Wyatt Earp
(1994)
Ed Masterson
The Favor
(1994)
Peter
While You Were Sleeping
(1995)
Jack Callaghan
Casper
(1995)
Dr. James Harvey
Independence Day
(1996)
President Thomas J. Whitmore
Mr. Wrong
(1996)
Whitman Crawford
Mistrial
(1996)
Steve Donohue
Independence Day: The ID4 Invasion
(1996)
Self
The Making of 'Independence Day'
(1996)
Self
Lost Highway
(1997)
Fred Madison
The End of Violence
(1997)
Mike
Pretty as a Picture: The Art of David Lynch
(1997)
Self
Merry Christmas, George Bailey!
(1997)
George Bailey
Zero Effect
(1998)
Daryl Zero
Lake Placid
(1999)
Jack Wells
Spy Games
(1999)
Harry Howe / Ernie Halliday
Brokedown Palace
(1999)
Hank Greene
Lucky Numbers
(2000)
Detective Pat Lakewood
Titan A.E.
(2000)
Captain Korso (voice)
The Guilty
(2000)
Callum Crane
The Virginian
(2000)
The Virginian
A Man Is Mostly Water
(2000)
Parking Fascist
Igby Goes Down
(2002)
Jason
Ignition
(2002)
Conor Gallagher
29 Palms
(2002)
The Ticket Clerk
Rick
(2003)
Rick O'Lette
The Grudge
(2004)
Peter Kirk
Tiger Cruise
(2004)
Gary Dolan
Dear Wendy
(2005)
Krugsby
John Candy: Comic Spirit
(2005)
Self
Scary Movie 4
(2006)
Henry Hale
Alien Autopsy
(2006)
Morgan Banner
You Kill Me
(2007)
Dave
Nobel Son
(2007)
Det. Max Mariner
Surveillance
(2008)
Sam Hallaway
Bottle Shock
(2008)
Jim Barrett
Phoebe in Wonderland
(2008)
Peter Lichten
Your Name Here
(2008)
William J. Frick
Peacock
(2010)
Edmund French
The Killer Inside Me
(2010)
Billy Boy Walker
Rio Sex Comedy
(2010)
William
Too Big to Fail
(2011)
Jamie Dimon
Bringing Up Bobby
(2011)
Kent
Innocent
(2011)
Rusty Sabich
Lola Versus
(2012)
Lenny
The Fruit Hunters
(2012)
Narrator (voice)
Kingdom Come
(2012)
Self
The Unbelievers
(2013)
Self
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
(2013)
Self (archive footage)
Red Sky
(2014)
John Webster
The Equalizer
(2014)
Brian Plummer
Cymbeline
(2014)
Sicilius Leonatus
May in the Summer
(2014)
Edward
American Ultra
(2015)
Krueger
Parables of War
(2015)
Self
Independence Day: Resurgence
(2016)
President Whitmore
Brother Nature
(2016)
Jerry Turley
The War of 1996: A United World News Special
(2016)
President Whitmore
Another Day: The Making of 'Independence Day: Resurgence'
(2016)
Self
LBJ
(2017)
Ralph Yarborough
Walking Out
(2017)
Clyde
The Ballad of Lefty Brown
(2017)
Lefty Brown
Battle of the Sexes
(2017)
Jack Kramer
A Thousand Junkies
(2017)
Bill Pullman
Trouble
(2018)
Ben
The Equalizer 2
(2018)
Brian Plummer
Dark Waters
(2019)
Harry Dietzler
The Coldest Game
(2019)
Joshua Mansky
National Theatre Live: All My Sons
(2019)
Joe Keller
Dark Waters: The Cost of Being a Hero
(2019)
Self
The High Note
(2020)
Max
Yellowstone
(2020)
(voice)
American Horses
(2022)
Narrator (voice)
threads of despair
(2024)
Fred Madison
Directing
Crew