"Pullman's amazing range as an actor coupled with
his uncanny ability to create richly textured distinct characters combine
to make him an unusually talented and creative actor. His work is invariably
fascinating to watch."
(from the biography
by Mary Cochrane McIvor)
the basics
William Pullman was born on December 17, 1953 in Hornell, New York, USA. His father James was a physician and his mother Johanna a nurse. He is the youngest boy in a family of 4 boys and 3 girls.
When he started college at the State University of New York at Delhi, he planned to major in building construction, in part because he loved the barns in the countryside of western New York. But one night he ended up at auditions for The Bald Soprano and thanks to that he got interest in theater. Later he became a theater major with the intention of working as a teacher. He graduated from SUNY with a degree in Theater Arts, and at University of Massachusetts at Amherst, he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree with a major in Directing, in 1979. Pullman planned to concentrate then on directing, but the same professor who had suggested him to graduate in Theater Arts urged him to continue acting.
After graduation, he worked for a while as a teacher at the Montana State University. While teaching, he also became chairman of the theater department, and some years later, in 1981, he decided to take a shot at professional acting. He moved then to New York's East Village and between auditions was a proof-reader, liquor store clerk, and bank teller. During the 80s, Bill also did some regional theater with a group at University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
He made his big screen debut in the Danny DeVito & Bette Midler comedy Ruthless people, in 1986, closely followed by his Lone Star role in Spaceballs, the Mel Brook's Star Wars parody. During the Spaceballs shooting he married Tamara Hurwitz, who he had met while both were studying in Amherst and performing in a university production. They both settled in Los Angeles, where they live in a renovated farmhouse along with their three children: Maesa, Jack, and Louis.
trivia
- While teaching at the Montana State University one of his students was director John Dahl, who gave him a role later in his 1994 film The last seduction
- Currently co-owns a ranch in Montana with his physician brother
- Lost his sense of smell after a head injury and two day coma.
- When promoting Independence Day (1996) in South America, some people actually thought he was the President of the United States.
- Though he has established in Hollywood, it's said that he also has a home at California
- Bill's idea of a good time is heading up to the Montana ranch that he co-owns with his brother, where among other things, they enjoy driving cattle and baling hay.
- He wears (or at least that's what he used to do!) the same pair of shoes every time he goes to an audition, that belonged to his father, for good luck.
- Actually, according to the March 1996 issue of the People magazine, he owns more than 30 pairs of shoes, including his workman's boots from While you were sleeping.
- In his backyard, Bill grows exotic fruit trees from around the world, such as cherimoyas and jujubes
