Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murrayis an American actor, comedian, and writer. He first gained exposure on Saturday Night Live, a role which earned him his first Emmy Award and later went on to star in comedy films, including Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Tootsie, Ghostbusters, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, What About Bob?, and Groundhog Day. He also co-directed Quick Change...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth21 September 1950
CityWilmette, IL
CountryUnited States of America
I'd sort of gone through some sort of spiritual change in the late 70s where I sort of saw there was some other life to live. It changed the way that I worked just having a different presence and a different tension.
If you have a good script, that's what gets you involved. It's harder to write a good screenplay than to find something.
Something wild can happen to anybody and I caution anybody that walks out on the street, just settle your accounts before you leave the house every day.
When I started, the scripts weren't as good, and you'd have to have a huge burst of energy to go, "Sheesh, how am I going to? This stuff's no good." So you'd have to improvise something or create something or try to work with the ware and try to figure out, how do you make this visually and orally acceptable, entertaining? Nowadays, the scripts are just so much better, that you don't have to feel that way. You feel like the script's coming to you, you can just relax. You don't have to drive the boat.
If I run into someone on the street, that's one thing. But answering mail for a living? I like a job where you can play and act kind of goofy and have some fun.
The only good thing about fame that I've gotten is I've gotten out of a couple of speeding tickets. I've gotten into a restaurant when I didn't have a suit and tie on. That's really about it.
I'm just a potato that won't quit. I'm a potato with some legs. Some have eyes, I've got legs.
I don't really read the reviews - but I remember one I read a long time ago that said I had a face like a potato.
I feel like I'm a better person when I'm quieter.
Most people, when they talk fast, they get flat.
The way financing for independent movies goes is great. You get the money from the guy who's actually doing the distribution in France. You say, "Do you want a piece of this movie?" And he's got to sell this movie to get his money back. That's the brains of it; that's the genius of this financing. "You want Germany? Give us a million dollars and you've got Germany."
I don't feel like it's pressure. It's more of an obligation - not to entertain or be funny, but to have a certain levity. I mean, there's got to be a lightness in your leg. You have to be as light as you can be, and you don't have to be weighted down, stuck in your emotions and stuck in your body, stuck in your head. You just want to try and elevate something.
Chicago actors are hard-nosed. They're tough on themselves and their fellow actors. They're self-demanding.
I count on the kindness of strangers.