Bill Murray names the best actor he ever worked with
Bill Murray has appeared alongside some of the greatest actors of all time, but this one stands head and shoulders above the rest.
(Credits: Alamy)
Film » Cutting Room Floor
Sat 1 February 2025 19:15, UK
It would be a quicker and easier task to name the famous actors that Bill Murray hasn’t been in a film with. The first season of Saturday Night Live on its own is stacked, containing the likes of Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. Then there’s his glittering film career, which has memorably included collaborations with Scarlett Johannson (Lost in Translation), Jason Schwartzmann (Rushmore), and Sigourney Weaver (the ‘Ghostbusters’ series).
Murray has reached the sort of legendary status where doesn’t even need to go looking for work anymore, as famous and influential names are lining up to share a creative space with him. Picking a favourite co-star from so many decades of brilliant performances sounds like a torturous task, but, in true Bill Murray fashion, he answered the question seemingly with ease during an interview with Variety.
“Robert Duvall is the best actor I ever worked with,” he said matter-of-factly, before adding, “But he could be cranky.” He might not be a classic Murray counterpart, but there’s no denying that Duvall’s performances in The Godfather, The Judge, and Apocalypse Now more than validate such high praise. The project that brought the two together was the 2009 drama Get Low, directed by cinematographer-turned-filmmaker Aaron Schneider. Duvall plays Felix Bush, a mysterious nomad who throws his own funeral party, whilst Murray appears as Frank Quinn, the funeral director who enables this mad scheme.
As he explained to Vulture whilst promoting the film, Duvall’s involvement was one of the main reasons Murray agreed to appear in Get Low. “There was the script, and the script was really good,” he explained. “And when they said Robert Duvall, I was like, ‘Well, no one’s ever asked me to work with Robert Duvall before.’” He saw the chance to work with the legendary Oscar-winner as not just a professional milestone but a learning experience. “That’s the reason you take a job like that, because if you don’t keep learning, you’re just sort of dead,” he said. “Or at least you have to know that you don’t know everything, otherwise you’re no good to anybody. But he’s quite a character, Bob.”
Duvall and Murray have excellent chemistry together, meshing superbly and matching each other’s gruff cynicism. Reviewers agreed, as Get Low was praised up and down the land. Duvall won the Hollywood Film Festival Award for ‘Best Actor’, an impressive feat for a man approaching his 80th birthday.
The year after they worked together, Murray and Duvall crossed paths again at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. Duvall was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award and Murray had been asked to give a speech, which he delivered in his usual nonchalant fashion. “I can go on for 12 minutes like some of these other folks. Some of us have cars waiting,” he quipped. “He can ride a horse, shoot a gun and make love to a beautiful Argentine woman. His shadow is a better actor than 70% of the people in this room… and you know who you are.”
An inspiration to many fine actors, Robert Duvall is a living, breathing cinematic institution. It takes a lot to impress a performer the calibre of Murray; the fact that he was so impressed with Duvall is testament to just how damn good he really is.
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Bill MurrayRobert Duvall