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