Bill Pullman Cast in Torchwood

Bill Pullman is the type of ‘everyman’ actor who seems to fit into just about any role. He’s been a cop in Lake Placid, the president in Independence Day, and a teacher who had the misfortune to get the attention of the wrong woman in The Grudge, along with a variety of other roles ranging from drama to comedy.

Now, Pullman is joining the BBC and Starz show, Torchwood, where he’ll play Oswald Jones, according to Deadline News. The character is described as “a dangerously clever convicted murderer” who becomes a media sensation when a technicality allows him to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. Jones is actually sorry about the crimes he’s committed but he still feels the rage and lust that makes him a danger to society. He soon learns there are things that are far more dangerous than him when he gets wrapped up in a horrifying crisis that could affect the whole world.

Torchwood, a spin-off from the Dr. Who television series, is about a criminal investigation group that investigates extraterrestrial and supernatural threats. In the previous three seasons, the show has mainly been focused in the European city of Cardiff, but a more international tone is being taken with the fourth season and Pullman is one of the new faces that is expected to add to that new scope. Mekhi Phifer has also joined the cast as one of the lead characters.

Torchwood returns for it’s fourth season in the summer of 2011.