'Outer Range' Star Lewis Pullman Has a Famous Father

If you've started watching the new western series on Amazon Prime Video, Outer Range, you're familiar with one of its young stars, Lewis Pullman. He plays the youngest son of Josh Brolin's character, Rhett Abbott. Rhett is an aspiring rodeo star who also works on his family's ranch. He's in the middle of dealing with some serious family drama with his older brother, missing sister-in-law and the Abbott family land. In just a few episodes Lewis has made Rhett one of the most interesting characters to watch among the stacked cast of the series. Apparently, his acting chops run in the family. He's a dead ringer for his father, actor Bill Pullman.

Fans remember Bill for playing the President of the United States in Independence Day, he was Sandra Bullock's love interest in While You Were Sleeping, and lately is starring in the series The Sinner on Netflix. Bill Pullman has been around for decades, a likable guy who fits in everything from a romantic comedy to a thriller. It seems like his son might have inherited the same charm. Lewis is the youngest child of Bill and his wife Tamara Hurwitz. His sister Maesa pursued a singing career and his older brother Jack is a puppet-maker, making him the only Pullman child to follow in his father's footsteps.

Though Lewis had early aspirations of becoming an actor like his father, he went to college pursuing something completely different. He opted to obtain a degree in social work but also enjoyed working outside, which likely stemmed from splitting time between California (where his family was based in Los Angeles) and Montana as a child. Bill was an adjunct professor at Montana State University before pursuing a professional acting career so it seems Montana remained a special place for the Pullman family.

"I was on the tractor division," Lewis told Hollywood Reporter, describing the required job he took at his liberal arts college in North Carolina. "I figured if acting didn't work out I could be on the road crew, working the back hoe."

He worked on short films during his summers and then got a big opportunity when his high school friend's parents, filmmakers Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton known for Little Miss Sunshine, asked him to audition for the Amazon series Highston. The show was canceled after only an episode but it helped launch Lewis's career and he has since gone on to appear on various TV shows and films.

You might recognize him from the Hulu miniseries Catch-22 starring George Clooney where he played Major Major Major Major, or when he played the drug addict Miles Miller in Bad Times at the El Royale. Maybe even from playing Garrett in Them That Follow. He's developed an eclectic resume ranging from sports drama Battle of the Sexes and horror film The Strangers: Prey at Night to the western film The Ballad of Lefty Brown starring his father. In addition to landing a role in Tom Cruise's upcoming Top Gun sequel Top Gun: Maverick, he secured the lead role in the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot. It's safe to say, Lewis Pullman has an exciting career ahead of him.

While his new series Outer Range is drawing some comparisons to the popular TV show Yellowstone, Lewis has his own direct ties to the series. He's in a band with his Outer Range co-star Josh Brolin's daughter, Eden Brolin, who played Mia on the show. Their band, Atta Boy, is comprised of Lewis, Eden Brolin, Freddy Reish, and Dashel Thompson. So far they have released two albums together, in 2012 and 2020.

READ MORE: Josh Brolin's Daughter Eden Plays Mia On 'Yellowstone'

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