Matt Bomer and Bill Pullman Are Ready for a New Season of The Sinnerand the Super Bowl – Parade

Standing to the side of this Super Bowl partythemed photo shoot, Matt Bomer is inhaling a bowl of Cheez Doodles.

But not likeor whyyou think.

The actor, known for his roles in such movies as Magic Mike XXL and The Normal Heart, is holding the snack a few inches from his face and wafting the orange dust up to his nose.

Bomer, 42, is quick to explain that this isnt some kind of alternative sinus-clearing treatment. Hes on a crazy calorie-restrictive diet for a plot point in the third season of USA Networks The Sinner, on which hes guest-starring, and this is the closest hell let himself come to breaking his regimen. The verdict? Smells kind of like feet, he says with a laugh.

Hes here with Bill Pullman, 66, who has portrayed The Sinners troubled detective Harry Ambrose since the show debuted in 2017, to talk about two things near and dear to both of them: the new season of the critically acclaimed series, premiering on Feb. 6, and that other show that happens to be the biggest one in the world, the Super Bowl.

Related:Our Game Day Guide Has Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Super Bowl

Count Pullman and Bomer among the millions of people who will be tuning in Feb. 2 to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers go head-to-head on the worlds biggest sports stage. And, of course, to watch all of the commercials.

I love the commercialsI think theyre fantastic and so creative in what they do with that little window of time, Bomer says. But as great as they are to watch, its not always possible to actually hear them at his house. We have three boys under the age of 15, so its hard to get everybody to be quiet.

Bomer and his husband of eight years, Hollywood publicist Simon Halls, are dads to Kit, 14, and 11-year-old twin brothers Henry and Walker.

For Pullman, the most challenging part of the Big Game is, well, sitting there and watching it. I need to flee sometimes, he admits. The tension is too much for me; I cant take it! I gotta get some distance between me and the screen, like when youre watching a scary movie and you need to turn the sound down or something.

Pullman has three grown children with his wife, Tamara, to whom hes been married since 1987. Son Jack, 30, is a puppet maker; daughter Measa, 31, is a singer-songwriter; and son Lewis, 26, is an actor who appeared in the movie Bad Times at the El Royale and will star alongside Tom Cruise in Junes Top Gun: Maverick.

Related:9 of Bill Pullmans Greatest Movie and TV Roles

A love of football is in Matt Bomers blood. His father, John, was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1971. Young Bomer played receiver and defensive back for his high school football team in Spring, Texas, but never considered going pro like his dad. Uh, no, he says with a laugh. There was not a sparkling, bright future for me in that sport, so I stopped playing and started working in theater my senior year.

But hes not entirely retired from football, he explains. When we go home to Texas for Thanksgiving, he says, we have our family game of touch football. Do his old competitive instincts kick in from back in the day? No, were really just trying to do something with the 9,000 calories we just ate!

But wait, if his dad played for the Cowboys, whats with the San Francisco 49ers jersey Bomers wearing today? Our oldest son, Kit, is a football fanatic, and when he got to an age where he could choose a team, I said, Were in California, heres the list of teams you can choose from. And he picked the 49ers. Weve since gone to games. Hes a real diehard fan, in good times and in bad. Im proud of him for that. So I thought hed enjoy [seeing me in] this.

And the Bills jersey for Pullman? I grew up in western New York, he says proudly. And the Buffalo Bills are the one New York football team that does play in New York! Theyve had somewhat of a tragic streak, a terrible winning drought, but I love that their fans have stayed so loyal and things are finally getting better for them.

Pullmanthe son of a physician father and a nurse momgrew up in Hornell, New York, and, like Bomer, played football in school, as did all of his brothers. His dad gave the Pullman boys a solid training plan. My father put his four boys to work on dairy farms in the summertime to make us stronger for football, he says. Early on, Pullman came to the same conclusion as Bomer did: He wasnt going to become a gridiron star. I had terrible eyesight, he says. They had me on the defensive line and I could get through the line, but then Id get out there and I couldnt see anything! So my sophomore year, I said, I cant do this.

Long after they hung up their uniforms, both say that their days playing sports made lasting impressions. Pullman remembers the talks one of his coachesa working-class philosopherwould give the team. Hed say maybe its good if everybody born with a silver spoon in their mouth remembers that not everybody is as well off as they are, he says. It was such a fascinating concept to me: Youre lucky, probably luckier than somebody else who you should be helping out.

Bomer says he learned a lot about discipline and work ethic from his days playing ball, and shares a moment of unexpected support that he likely will never forget. I was at the Magic Mike premiere and signing things for people who were behind the barricade. And Im going from one person to the next, and there was one of my high school football coaches! He was there with his daughter, just supporting me. It was one of the more surreal experiences in my life, and meant a lot to me, he says.

Related:7 TV and Movie Roles on Matt Bomers Road to Fame

Hard work, support and a bunch of people working together to achieve a common goal doesnt only apply to the world of sportsit takes all of those things and more to create a TV show. And to create one that is as popular with fans as it is with critics in this golden age of streaming TV is next to impossible. But The Sinner, with each season focusing on a new crime investigation that has more twists and turns than a Bill Belichick playbook, has done just that. Its amassed quite a list of Critics Choice, Golden Globe, Peoples Choice, Screen Actors Guild and Emmy nominations as well.

In this new season, Bomers character, Jamie, is a well-off expectant father who becomes involved in a fatal car crash. On the surface, it really seems like he has everything, Bomer says. But inside, hes suffering from a really profound sense of loneliness and spiritual disconnection.

As for this seasons plot? Pullman says hes requested not to know too much about how the story unfolds. I like the idea of going at it in the present tense, he says. That unknown, he says, allows for spontaneity and the unexpected when the cameras start rolling. Oh yeah, we get outside the pocket and scramble! agrees Bomer.

You often hear about superstar athletes like Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson obsessively poring over game videos and using visualization techniques before stepping onto the playing field. That kind of mental and physical prep applies to these guys as well, and both admit that their characters often pop up whether they are on set or not. My wife, Tamara, and I like to take walks, says Pullman, and as were going, shell say, Who are you talking to? Why are you walking like that? And Ill realize that Ive slipped into Ambroses physicality and his headspace.

Bomer says that he hears the same thing from his husband, all of the time. Simon will be like, Well there he goes, talking to himself again.

Related:Matt Bomer on Playing The Last Tycoon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Keeping Family First

Spoilers for the new season are few and far between. While Bomer did tell us his calorie-restrictive diet has something to do with the plot, he refuses to say more. And when he reveals that he and a co-star put together a playlist to help him get in the mindset of his character, Jamie, he wont share a single track. In fact, if you are a big fan of The Sinner and youre desperate to learn some spoilers, your best bet may be to find a seat next to Bomer when hes flying cross-country. Ive been commuting home to California from shooting in New York, and I try to use that six hours of isolation to really get the lines in my head. Ill be sitting there talking out the window to no one, and people around me must be like, Can you scoot me away from this guy?

As enjoyable as these guys are to watch onscreen, they both will tell you that they dont make the best audience members when one of their own shows or movies is on. When Bomer watches the comedies hes been in, he rarely laughs. I look at it like a scientist, he says. Did that joke land? Did I play it like the writer intended?

Pullman describes being at a recent film tribute to his work as terrible and says, Theyre cutting between all of these clips and everyone is watching you watch yourself, and then theres a shot where I turn around and I am Lone Starr from Space Balls and my light saber ejects right out of my pelvis! And its like, Oh, God

So what was it like for Bomer to be the new guy on the team of a show with such a winning track record and wide following? Ive been a fan of the show, so its extra surreal to all of a sudden be in a scene across from a character youve enjoyed for two seasons, he says of working alongside Pullman. And for that character to be played by a great actor like Bill, who Ive admired for so many years, my main M.O. is just, Matt, dont mess this up!

Pullman is quick to jump in. Mess up? No, no, no. Matt is the running back who you can just hand the ball to him to score all of the points for you. Now thats teamwork!

Related: 25 of the Best Bill Pullman Quotes

The football fan and new guest star of The Sinner has some strong opinions about footballs biggest game of the year.

Thats the worst. Unless the host has designated something for you, bring something unique that shows your personal touch. I love to bring Korean chicken wings.

Yes, Bomer says, it would be nice to fully experience these great pieces of advertising art during commercials, but the Super Bowl is a party. Silence is not on the menu.

This is a time to eat stuff you normally wouldnt eat every day, so I have to have nachos. Im from Texas, so I like layersnot just chips and cheese. You gotta have guacamole, sour cream, salsa, throw whatever you want on there!

Going back into the onion dip with a half-eaten chip? Not on Bomers watch: No one needs that!

Next,Make This Decadent Royale With Cheese Dip for Your Super Bowl Party

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Matt Bomer and Bill Pullman Are Ready for a New Season of The Sinnerand the Super Bowl - Parade

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero