Bill Pullman made his film debut in the 1986 American black comedy film ‘Ruthless People’ where he played the role of Earl Mott. The film earned praise from critics and was a major box office success, grossing over $71.6 million against a budget of $9-13 million. The following year, he starred as ‘Lone Starr’ in the American space opera parody film ‘Spaceballs,’ directed by Mel Brooks. While the film opened to a mixed reception, it gained a cult status in later years. He continued to star in films like ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ (1988), ‘The Accidental Tourist’ (1988), ‘Cold Feet’ (1989), ‘Brain Dead’ (1990), ‘Sibling Rivalry’ (1990), ‘Liebestraum’ (1991), ‘Newsies’ (1992), ‘A League of Their Own’ (1992), ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (1993), and ‘Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey’ (1993). In 1994, he portrayed ‘Ed Masterson’ in the American biographical Western film ‘Wyatt Earp,’ directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The film received a mixed response from critics. He starred as ‘Dr. James Harvey’ in the 1995 Brad Silberling-directed American supernatural dark fantasy comedy-drama film ‘Casper.’ The film saw mixed reviews upon release and was a major commercial success.
In the 1996 science-fiction-action film ‘Independence Day’ Pullman played the role of ‘President Thomas J. Whitmore.’ The film received mixed reviews from critics but was a phenomenal commercial success and went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1996. He next appeared in films like ‘Lost Highway’ (1997), ‘Zero Effect’ (1998), ‘Lake Placid’ (1999), ‘Spy Games’ (1999), ‘The Guilty’ (2000), ‘Lucky Numbers’ (2000), ‘Ignition’ (2001), ‘Igby Goes Down’ (2002), and ‘Rick’ (2003). In 2004, he starred as ‘Peter Kirk’ in the supernatural horror film ‘The Grudge,’ the official remake of the 2002 Japanese horror film, ‘Ju-On: The Grudge.’ Even though the film received a mixed response from critics, it emerged as a massive box office success, grossing over $187.2 million on a budget of $10 million. In 2006, Pullman was seen playing the role of ‘Henry Hale’ in the American science-fantasy comedy horror film ‘Scary Movie 4,’ directed by David Zucker. The film received a lukewarm response from critics but did decent business at the box office.
He continued to star in films like ‘Nobel Son’ (2007), ‘Surveillance’ (2008), ‘Bottle Shock’ (2008), ‘Peacock’ (2010), ‘The Killer Inside Me’ (2010), ‘Bringing Up Bobby’ (2011), ‘Lola Versus’ (2012), ‘The Unbelievers’ (2013), ‘Red Sky’ (2014), ‘The Equalizer’ (2014), ‘American Ultra’ (2015), ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ (2016), ‘Walking Out’ (2017), ‘The Ballad of Lefty Brown’ (2017), ‘The Equalizer 2’ (2018), ‘Dark Waters’ (2019), and ‘The High Note’ (2020). He was last seen playing the role of ‘David J. Mahoney’ in the 2021 American biographical drama streaming television miniseries ‘Halston.’
