BP

Thought maybe I'd mention Bill Pullman turns 65 today.  He's one of those actors who are so reliable that you're always happy to see them. (Bill Paxton was another--he's no longer with us, but he was a contemporary of Pullman's and they were often confused with each other.) He's mostly been in movies, though he's also done a fair amount of TV work and also a little Broadway.

Pullman's often played the lead, but is perhaps considered more a character actor.  He's never been nominated for an Oscar or an Emmy or a Tony, but who doesn't like him?

He made quite a film debut in 1986 with Ruthless People, playing Earl, maybe the dumbest man on Earth. After that he starred in Spaceballs, Mel Brooks' sci-fi comedy which has become a cult movie.  But he did more than comedy, such as his next starring role in the horror film The Serpent And The Rainbow.

He went on to appear in many high-profile projects, such as The Accidental Tourist, A League Of Their Own and Sleepless In Seattle.  He was the love interest in Sandra Bullock's breakthrough movie While You Were Sleeping, got to make a stirring speech as the president in Independence Day, and was haunting and haunted in David Lynch's Lost Highway.

I also liked him a lot in the little seen Bottle Shock.  And just last year he did a fine job in The Ballad Of Lefty Brown--a Western that asked what happens when only the sidekick is left alive.

Pullman is now at retirement age, but as long as they're wanted, actors don't have to quit.  I hope he keeps doing great work for many years to come.