Was interested in pursuing a career in construction before becoming an actor
Slipped into a three-day coma after a fall from a ladder in college, leaving him with a dulled sense of smell
Performed in various theater groups in Los Angeles and New York
Made feature debut in 1986's Ruthless People
Formed production company, Big Town, in the mid-1990s
Worked as a theater instructor at Montana State University; one of his students was aspiring director John Dahl, who later cast Pullman in his films The Last Seduction (1994) and You Kill Me (2007)
Is on the Board of Trustees at New York's Alfred University, where he received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 2011, when he was the keynote graduation speaker
Fond of joking about the fact that he is sometimes mistaken for another actor, Bill Paxton
Received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Television for his work on Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011)