Wherever he goes, LEWIS PULLMAN is in his element

Last fall, while filming Apple’s Lessons in Chemistry, adapted from the beloved novel by Bonnie Garmus, showrunner Lee Eisenberg made an on-the-fly change: The actor Lewis Pullman’s turn as Calvin, a progressive, introverted chemist in 1960s Los Angeles, was so winning that Eisenberg wrote him into more episodes than originally planned. Earlier this year, the Top Gun: Maverick scene-stealer wowed festival-goers at Sundance with The Starling Girl and at Tribeca with The Line. As he braces for leading man attention, Pullman reflects on life in and out of Hollywood.

- Britt Hennemuth

HIS PARENTS, ACTOR Bill Pullman and modern dancer Tamara Hurwitz Pullman, met doing theater in college. Lewis, a former drummer, is the youngest of three musically inclined siblings. “None of us can do our taxes worth shit, but we can put on a nice, decent performance.”

THOUGH HIS PARENTS were performers, they didn’t let Pullman watch TV. “You’d get to school and everyone would talk about last night’s Simpsons, and you’d feel like an alien.”

SET VISITS WERE few and far between. “Pop thought it was a bizarre world to be immersed in at a young age. I remember Igby Goes Down, and he didn’t realize he was shooting a mental breakdown scene in a shower that day. We got there and basically did a U-turn. I was mainly obsessed with craft service.”