Bill Murray used to be a staple of Hollywood between the late ’70s through to the ’90s. He has a slew of fun vintage Murray movie quotes and was one of many SNL stars who made a great return to the late night series. Regardless of his successes then, the actor and comedian has been starring in fewer films over the past couple of decades. He admitted that his lack of films was in part due to his personal lazy choices, as well as the public onslaught of criticisms he faced in 2022, but he’s starting to search and take on new characters again.
The Groundhog Day actor opened up about the lethargic period of his career while in conversation with critic Elvis Mitchell (via Variety) at Sundance Film Festival. The 74-year-old, when asked about the lag in his resume, shared that he’s just not been in the game, including not having current representation. Murray said of working in Hollywood:
I’ve been lazy. I don’t have an agent anymore, so I’m not the first person people think of to be in studio movies.
It makes sense to know that’s why we’ve only seen the Ghostbusters actor in the franchise’s continuing present-day continuation and the MCU’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, along with a sprinkling of other projects. Although not addressed with the veteran comedian, a notable event happened on the now defunct Being Mortal movie that could easily play into his semi-stalled career. The Lost in Translation alum was the reason behind the shutdown of the Aziz Ansari feature, which felt reminiscent of the Liu-Murray Angels confrontation, but in a more pragmatic way.
Murray then went on to share that smaller projects have sparked his interest in pursuing new projects again. He also equated his past habits to that of a bass, saying:
Only in this last year, doing these [indie movies], has reawakened me about searching for material. 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.
Presumably, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou performer is talking about returning to a Wes Anderson set, The Phoenician Scheme. The newest Anderson flick, which recently wrapped, is slated for a late 2025 movie schedule release. And while fans approve of Frozen Empire, it seems like Murray is prepared to make some risks again or jump into most anything during this stage in his career.
It’ll be interesting to see what Bill Murray will pop up in eventually and just how successful he was in this honest and declarative idea. Time will tell if his lazy ways become a thing of the past and how many leading roles he may snag. Here are some classic streamable Bill Murray movies if you can’t wait for the coming projects. Note that many call for a Netflix subscription or Peacock subscription!