Bill Murray has confessed to being “lazy” in the past few years of his career – but says he has been “reawakened” in his search for new roles.
The Lost in Translation and Groundhog Day star, 74, has appeared in just a handful of films since 2020, including major franchise sequels such as Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
“I’ve been lazy,” admitted Murray at the Sundance Film Festival, via Variety. “I don’t have an agent anymore, so I’m not the first person people think of to be in studio movies.”
Murray did star in two indie movies in 2024, The Friend and Riff Raff, which he claims has given him a new desire to get back in front of the camera.
“Only in this last year, doing these [indie movies], has reawakened me about searching for material,” said Murray. “I’ve lived the life of a bass… waiting for something to come down at me. If something lands in my mouth, I’ll eat it.”
Murray was also asked by film critic, Elvis Mitchell about playing men who “lead lives of enormous charm” and “how poisonous their charm can be.”
Without being specific, Murray said: “It’s always interesting when you’re playing a guy who has done some damage. I’ve done some damage. It’s sort of a penance to play them; to show that you’re accepting responsibility for it. It’s certainly always unconscious damage you’re doing, but you are responsible for the damage you’re doing.”
Murray has been accused of “inappropriate behaviour” in recent years straddling and kissing a “much younger” female production staffer on the film Being Mortal, which caused production to be shut down.
Speaking at the time, Murray addressed the controversy, stating: “I had a difference of opinion with a woman I’m working with. I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way. The movie studio wanted to do the right thing, so they wanted to check it all out and investigate it and so they stopped the production.”
Geena Davis also came forward with accusations of alleged harassment by Murray on the set of the 1990 crime comedy Quick Change.
Lucy Liu, recently claimed that she clashed with Murray while filming Charlie’s Angels and that he had “hurl[ed] insults” at her during a rehearsal of a recently rewritten scene, and claimed that he used language that “was inexcusable and unacceptable”.
In a 2009 interview with The Sunday Times, Murrary appeared to comment upon the feud with Liu, telling the paper: “Look, I will dismiss you completely if you are unprofessional and working with me [...] When our relationship is professional, and you’re not getting that done, forget it.”
