WHEN Hollywood star, Bill Pullman, attended the Fastnet Film Festival last year, he found family.

Now, one year later, the actor described in an interview how he found a community, like family, and said: 'I want back.'

At the festival Bill was introduced a long-lost relative, Julie Pullman, who travelled from the UK specially to meet him.

Despite having exchanged emails, it was their first time meeting face-to-face and they posed happily together for The Southern Star.

Both Bill and Julie’s great-great grandfathers were brothers in Skerries in Dublin before some family members left for America.

And, with the assistance of Skibbereen Heritage Centre, the actor is exploring his connections to a John Pullman who has documented ties to West Cork.

In the recent interview, Bill Pullman said: "That period of shooting at West Cork film studios still warms my soul, almost a year later.

"I pretty much always walked to the studios and passed stone-fenced pastures with horses, cattle, and sheep. Scrappy, that facility, filled with people who had twinkling eyes like family. I want back."

Details of the interview were shared online by West Cork Film Studios, which is gearing up for another busy year, including the release of the movies made last year, and a new production featuring Irish acting legend Ciarán Hinds in the works.