Falling in love with Lewis Pullman because of ‘Thunderbolts*’? Watch these projects to support your new fave!
Lewis Pullman has been on the scene for quite a while but if you’re just now discovering him, thanks to Thunderbolts*, you might want some other projects of his to watch. That’s where we come in.
Pullman has been a working actor for quite some time but after his role as Bob in Top Gun: Maverick, fans were excited to see what he was in next. Who knew that that would include another character named Bob! But he has been in some pretty amazing movies and television shows throughout the years that you might have missed.
So why not celebrate your new found love of Lewis Pullman and watch some of his best work? Here are 10 projects you can dive into to keep the love train chugging forward.
Bad Times at the El Royale
I am a proud fan of Bad Times at the El Royale. A movie that made me cry (because of Jeff Bridges), the thriller is weird, quirky, and a fun time. Pullman plays Miles Miller, an employee of the El Royal hotel. And the film itself is stacked with some of your favorite actors and Cynthia Erivo, who was told she had to pretend like she wasn’t a perfect singer. Oh and did I mention Chris Hemsworth’s weird dancing as Billy Lee?
The film is described as follows: “The El Royale is run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers — a cleric, a soul singer, a traveling salesman, two sisters, the manager and the mysterious Billy Lee — converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption before everything goes wrong.”
Top Gun: Maverick
The movie that helped save cinema back in 2022 was Top Gun: Maverick. A sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun, Maverick put us back at Top Gun with a different group of pilots. One of those pilots was Bob, a back seater who had glasses and was socially awkward. Oh and his name was Bob as well as his call sign, which isn’t typically the case. Basically, I love him.
Maverick has a lot of moving parts to it. You have the Rooster (Miles Teller) and Maverick (Tom Cruise) dynamic, Hangman (Glen Powell) learning how to be a team player, and Phoenix’s (Monica Barbaro) rise on the team with her teammate, Bob. It’s beautiful, action packed, and a great film to watch for the whole cast (including Pullman).
Lessons in Chemistry
The Apple TV+ series Lessons in Chemistry earned Pullman an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie in 2024. The show, which was led by Brie Larson, is based on novel by Bonnie Garmus and Pullman plays Calvin Evans, a scientist who meets Elizabeth Zott (Larson) at the school they both work at. The two fall in love, despite Elizabeth not wanting to, and it is a tragically beautiful love story.
There is so much about this show that I love. It has one of my favorite tropes in it and really shows a different side to Pullman as an actor. The series is an emotional watch but remains one of my favorite shows that Apple TV+ has brought us.
The Starling Girl
Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) falls in love with her friend’s older brother Owen (Lewis Pullman) in a film that is the definition of power dynamics and what would happen if your dated your best friend’s hot older brother. It’s dark and a look at fundamentalism and how it can hurt young people, especially women, and Pullman does a great job of bringing the layers of Owen into the fold.
The film is described as follows: “Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.”
Skincare
Want to see Lewis Pullman with weird tattoos, bad earrings, and playing a man with a “fitspiration” wall? Look no further than Skincare. The film, directed by Austin Peters, has Pullman playing a life coach named Jordan who starts working with Hope Goldman (Elizabeth Banks), a woman who suddenly finds herself in need of a life change.
Truly one of the best parts of this movie is Pullman’s weird work out sequence and the fact that it is a period piece of the 2010s does hurt my bones but overall, it’s a fun and weird ride. Skincare is described as follows: “Famed aesthetician Hope Goldman is about to take her career to the next level by launching her very own skin care line. However, she soon faces a new challenge when a rival opens a boutique directly across from her store. Suspecting that someone is trying to sabotage her, she embarks on a quest to unravel the mystery of who’s trying to destroy her life.”
Salem’s Lot
Stephen King has plenty of adaptations out there and Pullman was part of the most recent adaptation of Salem’s Lot. The vampire story puts a novelist in a small town, haunted by a new vampire who comes to town and takes over the residents. Talk about the inspiration that Ben (Pullman) needs for his next novel!
It’s a fine adaptation of King’s work and was my first foray into the story but then again, I love any and all adaptations of King’s stories. And Salem’s Lot is a nice and easy film to watch, especially if you’re looking for something just a little scary.
The Line
Movies about frat bros might feel like something you’d want to skip but The Line nails the toxicity that fraternity culture can breed. The film is a fascinating watch, shot during COVID, and the cast itself got close from their lack of ability to go out due to precautions. So it is just one of those movies that you can watch and unpack.
The film is described as follows: “Tom, a college student desperate to fit into the prestigious fraternity Kappa Nu Alpha (KNA), finds himself caught in a web of manipulation, brutal hazing rituals, and moral dilemmas. As he struggles to balance his loyalty to the fraternity with his personal integrity and a relationship outside its social circle, he faces the dark and dangerous reality of Greek life. How far will he go to belong? Watch the trailer now for a chilling look at the cost of blind tradition and the battle for identity!”
Riff Raff
Did you want to watch Lewis Pullman work through his daddy issues as he waits to become a father himself? Let me present to you Riff Raff. The film stars Jennifer Coolidge and Ed Harris as Lewis Pullman’s parents and the comedy crime film is an exploration of family, revenge, and trying to be a better person.
Riff Raff has Bill Murray trying to come and kill Lewis Pullman’s character the entire time and I think that is just kind of a hilarious little additional joy to this movie.
Outer Range
What is kind of great about Lewis Pullman’s career is that he has kind of tapped into almost every major genre. With Outer Range, he brings us a really interesting new science fiction series to look at. Pullman plays Rhett Abbot, the son of Royal (Josh Brolin), and one of the main characters on the series. Cowboy Lewis Pullman? Sign me up!
The series is described as follows: “The Abbotts are coping with the disappearance of their daughter-in-law when the neighbouring Tillersons make a play for their ranch land. Tension comes to a head when a mysterious black void arrives in the Abbotts’ pasture.”
Battle of the Sexes
If you want to see a tennis movie that has Steve Carell, Emma Stone, and Lewis Pullman, boy do I have the movie for you! Battle of the Sexes tells the infamous tennis match between Billie Jean King (Stone) vs. Bobby Riggs (Carell). The film had Pullman playing Larry Riggs, Bobby’s son, but Pullman’s own father, Bill Pullman, was in the movie as another character.
It is funny to think that Bill Pullman and Lewis Pullman were in a movie and not playing relatives (especially since the two have the same face) but it was one of the earlier roles of Pullman’s that showed how talented he is!
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
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