Bill Pullman wishes he hadn’t waited so long to work in TV

Over his decades long career, actor Bill Pullman has proven to be a shapeshifter, in the best sense of the phrase. From his breakout role in the Mel Brooks spoof Spaceballs, to his rom-com leading man turn in While You Were Sleeping, to his beloved fictional United States president in the action film Independence Day, to his tackling of a neo-noir tone in Lake Placid… These are just a few examples of his wildly varied takes on the “everyman” type. 

In recent years he has taken on more television roles. These include multiple seasons of murder mystery anthology, The Sinner, and now the Lifetime miniseries Murdaugh Murders: The Movie, where he plays real life convicted killer Alex Murdaugh. Pullman tells The Treatment about Murdaugh’s addictions — both to painkillers and to lying about his indiscretions. He talks about how much of the writing in the series came straight from court testimony. And he admits to wishing he hadn’t waited so long to work in television.