Early life

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 convinced by his students to attempt film.

Career

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 been The Grudge and Scary Movie 4 (the latter heavily spoofing The Grudge though Pullman's role spoofed The Village).

From February 2001 until February 2002, Pullman starred with Mercedes Ruehl, in Edward Albee's play The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? on Broadway. The play won several awards: 2002 Tony Award for Best Play; 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play; 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Pullman was nominated for the 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play. He starred as Dr. Richard Massey in the End of Days miniseries, Revelations. Pullman starred in Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry, at Off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre in New York. Pullman received a second Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Play for Peter and Jerry in 2008.

In addition to acting, Pullman is a creative writer. His first play, Expedition 6, is about the International Space Station mission Expedition 6 that was in orbit at the time that the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed on reentry, grounding the U.S. space shuttle program, which was to provide the vehicle for the crew's return to earth. The play opened at San Francisco's Magic Theater in September 2007.

He also appeared in the Broadway production of David Mamet's Oleanna, co-starring Julia Stiles. The production opened at the John Golden Theatre October 11, 2009, and closed on December 6, 2009, playing 65 performances.

He is also a Jury Member for the digital studio Filmaka, a platform for undiscovered filmmakers to show their work to industry professionals.

Pullman played murderer and paedophile Oswald Danes in Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of the BBC/Starz Entertainment television show Torchwood, which began airing in July 2011. For his performance as Danes, Pullman has received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor In Television.

From 2012 to 2013, Pullman portrayed a U.S. president in the television comedy series 1600 Penn.

Personal life

Pullman is married to Tamara Hurwitz and they have three children. Hurwitz is of part Norwegian descent. He co-owns a cattle ranch with his brother in Montana, near the town of Whitehall, where he lives part-time. He also serves on the Board of Trustees at Alfred University and was awarded an honorary doctorate on May 14, 2011.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Ruthless People	Earl Mott
1987	Spaceballs	Lone Starr
1988	The Serpent and the Rainbow	Dennis Alan
1988	Rocket Gibraltar	Crow Black
1988	The Accidental Tourist	Julian
1989	Cold Feet	Buck Latham
1990	Brain Dead	Dr. Rex Martin
1990	Sibling Rivalry	Nicholas Meany
1990	Bright Angel	Bob
1990	Going Under	Biff Banner
1991	Liebestraum	Paul Kessler
1992	Nervous Ticks	York Daley
1992	Newsies	Bryan Denton
1992	A League of Their Own	Bob Hinson
1992	Singles	Doctor Jamison
1993	Sommersby	Orin Meecham
1993	Sleepless in Seattle	Walter
1993	Malice	Andy Safian
1993	Mr. Jones	Construction Site Foreman	Uncredited
1994	The Favor	Peter Whiting
1994	Wyatt Earp	Ed Masterson
1994	The Last Seduction	Clay Gregory
1995	While You Were Sleeping	Jack Callaghan
1995	Casper	Dr. James Harvey
1996	Mr. Wrong	Whitman Crawford
1996	Independence Day	President Thomas J. Whitmore
1997	Lost Highway	Fred Madison
1997	The End of Violence	Mike Max
1998	Zero Effect	Daryl Zero
1999	Lake Placid	Jack Wells
1999	Brokedown Palace	'Yankee' Hank Green
1999	History Is Made at Night	Harry Howe/Ernie Halliday
2000	The Guilty	Callum Crane
2000	Titan A.E.	Captain Joseph Korso	Voice
2000	Lucky Numbers	Det. Pat Lakewood
2001	Ignition	Conor Gallagher
2002	Igby Goes Down	Jason Slocumb
2003	Rick	Rick
2004	The Grudge	Peter Kirk
2005	Dear Wendy	Officer Krugsby
2006	Scary Movie 4	Henry Hale
2006	Alien Autopsy	Morgan Banner
2007	Nobel Son	Max Mariner
2007	You Kill Me	Dave
2008	Surveillance	Sam Hallaway
2008	Bottle Shock	Jim Barrett
2008	Phoebe in Wonderland	Peter Lichten
2008	Your Name Here	William J. Frick
2010	Peacock	Edmund French
2010	The Killer Inside Me	Billy Bob Walker
2010	Rio Sex Comedy	William
2011	Bringing Up Bobby	Kent
2012	Lola Versus	Lenny
2013	The Unbelievers	Himself
2014	Red Sky	Captain John Webster
2014	Cymbeline	Sicilius Leonatus
2014	The Equalizer	Brian Plummer
2015	American Ultra	Raymond Krueger
2016	Independence Day: Resurgence	Former President Thomas J. Whitmore	Filming
2016	LBJ	Senator Ralph Yarborough	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Cagney & Lacey	Doctor Giordano	Episode: "A Safe Place"
1989	Home Fires Burning	Henry Tibbets	Movie
1990	The Tracey Ullman Show	Sheldon Moss	Episode: "The Word"
1992	Crazy in Love	Nick Symonds	Movie
1995	Fallen Angels	Rich Thurber	Episode: "Tomorrow I Die"
1996	Mistrial	Steve Donohue	Movie
1997	Merry Christmas, George Bailey	George Bailey	Movie
2000	The Virginian	The Virginian	Movie
2001	Night Visions	Major Ben Darnell	Episode: "A View Through the Window"
2004	Tiger Cruise	Cmdr. Dolan	Movie
2005	Revelations	Richard Massey	6 episodes
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Kurt Moss	Episode: "Closet"
2010	Nathan vs. Nature	Arthur	Movie
2011	Too Big to Fail	Jamie Dimon	Movie
2011	Innocent	Rusty Sabich	Movie
2011	Torchwood: Miracle Day	Oswald Danes	8 episodes Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television
2012-2013	1600 Penn	President Dale Gilchrist	13 episodes

[ Source: Wikipedia ]