The Making of Independance Day

The pivotal role of President Whitmore went to Bill Pullman. An important part, the President had to embody several characteristics. He is a commander in chief, struggling in Washington, frustrated by murky politics that stymie a one-time military official who is more accustomed to clear objectives and agendas. Pullman also had to portray a family man, whose life is thrown into turmoil by the alien arrival.

Devlin assets that "Bill Pullman is one of the great surprises of the film. I think people will see him in a whole new light. He is funny, charismatic, strong; a real old-fashioned leading man. As President of the United States, he is complicated, a former fighter pilot, a hero of the Gulf War who used that celebrity to propel him into politics. But, he's an outsider, doesn't play the Washington games well. So, at the beginning of the movie, his place in the polls is dropping rapidly. He's a good, decent American, though, and the alien crisis becomes the thing that allows him to prove it."

"We had a long discussion about the President," recalls Emmerich. "We wrote the part for a President who was too young for the job, that was the character description. And then we went looking for him. And then we found Bill and went even younger than we'd originally thought, because we felt he'd play the part very well. Bill can be very, very funny, he has a great sense of humour about himself. He also has this other side, which is really much more the hero figure. We thought both these things were good for the President. In fact, we called him Mr. President on the set."

The opportunity to play this President intrigued Pullman. "There's that point when every first-grade teacher says to the class, 'Any one of you could become President of the United States.' This was my opportunity," he jokes. "Seriously, I wanted to do the film because it reminded me of a Saturday afternoon movie, a real entertaining audience event. I liked the character because this President is human. He is complicated, fallible, but unapologetically a hero. He reminds me of the kind of roles William Holden played in those World War Two movies."

Pullman's President isn't modelled after any one head of state in particular. However, he claims that "I did listen to some of the great speeches on CD, I read some books like The Commanders by Bob Woodward and I watched that documentary on the Clinton campaign, The War Room. But, for the rest of it, President Whitmore's character is shaped by the nature of what is required of him."

Pullman describes Whitmore as "a man who is a humanist and yet able to make some tough decisions in the face of incredible crisis and loss, a loss that is both national and personal." The role gave Pullman a deeper respect for the office, but, he adds, "I am very thankful that this was just a fictional part to play, because I think you'd have to be a little bit of a junkie for abuse to be the actual President."

Bill Pullman starred in two of the most popular films to open in the summer of 1995, appearing with Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping and opposite several computer-generated ghosts in Amblin Entertainment's Casper. He also appeared with Meg Ryan as her ill-fated fiance in the hit film Sleepless in Seattle, acted opposite Jodie Foster in Sommersby and played an avenging husband in Malice, alongside Nicole Kidman and Alec Baldwin. Further starring roles include the ultimate bad-seed boyfriend with Ellen DeGeneres in Mr. Wrong and a troubled jazz musician in David Lynch's upcoming Lost Highway.

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