1974–1979: Early work and Saturday Night Live With an invitation from his older brother
Brian Doyle-Murray, Murray got his start at Chicago's
The Second City, an
improvisational comedy troupe, studying under
Del Close. In 1974, he moved to New York City and was recruited by
John Belushi as a featured player on
The National Lampoon Radio Hour. In 1975, the
Off-Broadway The National Lampoon Show led to his first television role as a cast member of the
ABC variety show
Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. That same season, another variety show, ''
NBC's Saturday Night'', premiered. Cosell's show lasted just one season, canceled in early 1976. After working in Los Angeles with the "guerrilla video" commune
TVTV on several projects, Murray rose to prominence in 1976. He officially joined the cast of
NBC's
Saturday Night Live for the show's second season, following the departure of
Chevy Chase. Murray was with
SNL for three seasons from 1977 to 1980. A
Rutland Weekend Television sketch
Monty Python's
Eric Idle brought for his appearance on
SNL developed into the
mockumentary All You Need Is Cash (1978). Murray appeared as "Bill Murray the K", a send-up of New York radio host
Murray the K, in a segment that parodies the
Maysles Brothers's documentary
The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. During the first few seasons of
SNL, Murray was in a romantic relationship with fellow cast member
Gilda Radner. Murray landed his first starring role with
Meatballs (1979).
1980–1993: Work with Harold Ramis in 1989In the early 1980s, he collaborated with writer-director
Harold Ramis and starred in a string of box-office hits, including
Caddyshack (1980) and
Stripes (1981) and had a role in
Tootsie (1982). He portrayed
Hunter S. Thompson in
Where the Buffalo Roam (1980). Murray was the first guest on NBC's
Late Night with David Letterman on February 1, 1982. He later appeared on the first episode of the
Late Show with David Letterman on August 30, 1993, when the show moved to CBS. On January 31, 2012, 30 years after his first appearance with Letterman, Murray appeared again on his talk show. He appeared as Letterman's final guest when the host retired on May 20, 2015. Murray began work on
a film adaptation of
W. Somerset Maugham's novel ''
The Razor's Edge. The film, which Murray co-wrote, was his first starring role in a drama. He later agreed with Columbia Pictures to star in Ghostbusters—in a role originally written for John Belushi—to get financing for The Razor's Edge
. Ghostbusters
became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and, at the time, the highest-grossing comedy ever. The Razor's Edge
, which was filmed before Ghostbusters'' was released, was a box-office flop. Disappointed over the failure of ''The Razor's Edge'', Murray took a hiatus from acting for four years to study philosophy and history at
Sorbonne University, frequent the
Cinémathèque in
Paris, and to spend time with his family in their
Hudson River Valley home. Murray made his first and only attempt at directing when he co-directed
Quick Change (1990) with producer
Howard Franklin. He co-starred in
Frank Oz's
What About Bob? (1991) alongside
Richard Dreyfuss. He starred in
Harold Ramis's fantasy comedy
Groundhog Day (1993).
The Washington Post's
Hal Hinson praised Murray's performance: "Murray is a breed unto himself, a sort of gonzo minimalist. And he's never been funnier as a comedian or more in control as an actor than he is here. It's easily his best movie." That same year, he starred in the comedy
Mad Dog and Glory alongside
Robert De Niro and
Uma Thurman.
Vincent Canby of
The New York Times wrote, "The great satisfaction of
Mad Dog and Glory is watching Mr. De Niro and Mr. Murray play against type with such invigorating ease."
1994–2009: Comedy stardom and mature roles , acting in 10 of his films since 1998. After the success of
Groundhog Day, Murray appeared in a series of well-received supporting roles in films like
Tim Burton's
Ed Wood (1994) and
Peter Farrelly's
Kingpin (1996). Also in 1996, he appeared as himself in the
Looney Tunes live action comedy
Space Jam with
Michael Jordan. However, his starring roles in
Larger than Life (1996) and
The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) were not as successful with critics or audiences. He received much critical praise for his role in
Wes Anderson's coming of age comedy
Rushmore (1998), opposite
Jason Schwartzman and
Olivia Williams.
Lisa Schwarzbaum of
Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Murray turns in a thrillingly knowing, unforced performance — an award-worthy high point in a career that continues". Murray received the Best Supporting Actor awards from the
New York Film Critics Circle, the
National Society of Film Critics, and the
Los Angeles Film Critics Association (tying with
Billy Bob Thornton for
A Simple Plan). Murray then took on more dramatic roles in
Wild Things (1998) and
Cradle Will Rock (1999). Murray decided to take a turn towards more dramatic roles and experienced a resurgence in his career. In 2000, he portrayed
Polonius in
Michael Almereyda's
Hamlet, based on the
play by
William Shakespeare. The film starred
Ethan Hawke in the title role, as well as
Kyle MacLachlan,
Julia Stiles,
Liev Schreiber and
Sam Shepard. The film received mixed reviews. On May 22, 2000, he portrayed Luther Billis in a concert version of the stage musical
South Pacific at
Lincoln Center for a fundraiser. The following year, Murray reunited with Wes Anderson in the family comedy-drama
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) which starred
Gene Hackman,
Owen Wilson,
Luke Wilson,
Ben Stiller,
Gwyneth Paltrow and
Anjelica Huston. In the film, Murray plays Raleigh St. Clair, the meek and mild-mannered neurologist, writer, and husband of Margot Tenenbaum (Paltrow). films since 2003. In 2003, he starred in his first collaboration with director
Sofia Coppola in
Lost in Translation opposite
Scarlett Johansson. Murray plays an aging movie star on assignment in
Tokyo to shoot a
Suntory whiskey commercial. Feeling isolated and alone he meets an American woman, Charlotte (Johansson) with whom he sparks an unlikely friendship. Coppola explores the themes of
alienation and
disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in
Japan. The independent drama was an immense critical success and commercial success.
Roger Ebert hailed Murray's performance: "Bill Murray has never been better. He doesn't play 'Bill Murray' or any other conventional idea of a movie star, but invents Bob Harris from the inside out, as a man both happy and sad with his life – stuck, but resigned to being stuck." Murray earned numerous accolades, including the
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the
Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead, as well as Best Actor awards from several film critic organizations. He was considered a favorite to win the
Academy Award for Best Actor, but
Sean Penn ultimately won the award for his performance in
Clint Eastwood's
Mystic River. In an interview included on the
Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that it is his favorite film in which he has appeared. He played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop in
Jim Jarmusch's anthology film
Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). He
voiced Garfield in
Garfield: The Movie (2004), which role he reprised in
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006). Murray later said that he only took the role because he was under the mistaken impression that the screenplay, co-written by
Joel Cohen, was the work of
Joel Coen. He made his third collaboration with Anderson in
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), co-written by Anderson with
Noah Baumbach. Murray plays Zissou, an oceanographer-filmmaker based on
Jacques Cousteau who is struggling to finish his latest documentary and has to reconcile with his son (
Owen Wilson). The film also stars
Cate Blanchett,
Willem Dafoe,
Anjelica Huston,
Jeff Goldblum and
Michael Gambon. The film initially received mixed reviews, although Murray's performance was praised, and was a
box office bomb. In the decades since, it has developed a
cult following. The following year, Murray reunited with Jim Jarmusch in
Broken Flowers (2005). The film revolves around Don Johnston (Murray), who embarks on a journey to four women (
Sharon Stone,
Frances Conroy,
Jessica Lange and
Tilda Swinton), to find out who sent him a mysterious letter. Roger Ebert praised Murray: "No actor is better than Bill Murray at doing nothing at all, and being fascinating while not doing it". He returned to the big screen for
cameos in Anderson's
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and
Peter Segal's
Get Smart (2008). He played an important role in the
post-apocalyptic film
City of Ember (2008). Murray starred in the independent film
Get Low (2009) alongside
Robert Duvall and
Sissy Spacek. The film is loosely based on a true story about a Tennessee hermit in the 1930s who throws his own funeral party while still alive. Murray and Duvall received critical praise and the film won the
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Also in 2009, Murray played himself in the
zombie comedy Zombieland starring
Woody Harrelson,
Emma Stone and
Jesse Eisenberg. Murray voiced Mr. Badger in Anderson's
stop-motion film
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
2010–2019 in 2014. Murray starred in
Roger Michell's historical comedy
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), where he played
Franklin D. Roosevelt opposite
Laura Linney (Roosevelt's cousin
Margaret Suckley) and
Olivia Williams (
Eleanor Roosevelt). The film focuses on the 1939 visit at the Roosevelts'
Hyde Park home by
King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth (
Samuel West and
Olivia Colman, respectively.) Murray received praise from critics; Roger Ebert wrote, "Bill Murray wouldn't be my first thought for an actor to play President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but he may have been the right choice...The role requires him to show Roosevelt as a sometimes lonely and sad man whose vacation getaway is his mother's family mansion, Springwood, near Hyde Park in upstate New York ... Murray, who has a wider range than we sometimes realize, finds the human core of this FDR and presents it tenderly." Murray received a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination for his performance. '' (2014) Since 2010, Murray has continued to appear in Wes Anderson films, including the coming of age comedy
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) which also starred
Bruce Willis,
Edward Norton,
Frances McDormand and
Tilda Swinton. The film premiered at the
65th Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the . The film was a box office and critical success. In 2016, the
BBC included the film in
its list of greatest films of the twenty-first century. Murray made a brief comic turn in Anderson's
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). The film competed at the
64th Berlin International Film Festival where it received rapturous reviews. The film received 9
Academy Award nominations including
Best Picture, ultimately receiving 4, for
Costume Design,
Production Design,
Makeup/Hair and
Original Score. Murray, along with the cast, won the
Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his ensemble work. Murray, along with
Matt Damon,
Cate Blanchett,
John Goodman,
Hugh Bonneville,
Jean Dujardin and
Bob Balaban, starred in
George Clooney's ensemble
World War II drama
The Monuments Men (2014). The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a modest box office success. Murray starred in the coming of age film
St. Vincent (2014) alongside
Melissa McCarthy and
Naomi Watts. Murray played Vincent, a retired, grumpy, alcoholic
Vietnam War veteran, and received a
Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance.
Peter Bradshaw's mixed review praised Murray: "[He] knows how to shine as the bleary, cynical companion to a younger person dragooned by fate into being both his pupil and his accomplice, and who puts Murray back in touch with his own innocence." He starred as a music manager in
Barry Levinson's comedy film
Rock the Kasbah (2015). Also that year, he starred in a
Sofia Coppola-directed musical holiday special for
Netflix called
A Very Murray Christmas alongside
Amy Poehler,
Maya Rudolph,
Chris Rock,
Michael Cera,
Rashida Jones,
George Clooney, and
Miley Cyrus. It was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. in 2018. He voiced
Baloo in
Jon Favreau's
The Jungle Book (2016). Murray received praise for his comic performance with Chris Nashawaty of
Entertainment Weekly describing him at "his wry, what-me-worry comic-relief best". The film was an immense financial hit, and earned a 95% approval rating on
Rotten Tomatoes. Murray was nominated for Favorite Animated Movie Voice at the People's Choice Awards; he lost to
Ellen DeGeneres who reprised her role in
Finding Dory (2016). There had been speculation that Murray might return to the
Ghostbusters franchise for a rumored
Ghostbusters 3. Murray once stated, "I'd do it only if my character was killed off in the first reel," and also, "You know, maybe I should just do it. Maybe it'd be fun to do." Eventually, he appeared in both the 2016
Ghostbusters reboot as Martin Heiss, a
cynical ghost
debunker, which was released on July 15, 2016, and 2021's
Ghostbusters: Afterlife. That year he was also part of
Wes Anderson's ensemble cast of the animated film
Isle of Dogs, which premiered at the
68th Berlin International Film Festival. He also briefly reprised his role as himself in
Zombieland: Double Tap (2018). Murray was part of the ensemble cast of Jim Jarmusch's zombie-comedy ''
The Dead Don't Die (2019) alongside Adam Driver, and Selena Gomez. The film received mixed reviews. However John Nungent of Empire'' praised its lead performances: "Murray and Driver are two of Jarmusch's favourite muses — the
De Niro and
DiCaprio to his
Scorsese, if you like — and few actors capture that lackadaisical sense of humour quite as well as them, both faces almost
Buster Keaton-esque in their deadpan resolve."
2020–present at the
Toronto International Film Festival in 2024. Murray reprised his role in
Groundhog Day for an ad which aired during the
2020 Super Bowl. In it, he steals the groundhog and drives him to various places in the orange
Jeep Gladiator. Murray reunited with Sofia Coppola for the comedy-drama
On the Rocks (2020) opposite
Rashida Jones. The film premiered at the 58th
New York Film Festival where it received positive reviews, with many critics praising Murray's performance. David Rooney of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Murray has seldom been better." It had a
limited theatrical release on October 2, 2020, by
A24, followed by a digital streaming release on October 23, 2020, on
Apple TV+. He received some critical acclaim as well as nominations for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and the
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actor. Murray appeared in a small role in
The French Dispatch (2021), reuniting him with Wes Anderson for the 9th time. It was set to premiere at the
Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2020, and get a
wide release on July 24, but due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was cancelled and the film was pulled from the schedule on April 3, 2020. The film was rescheduled for release on October 16, 2020, before being pulled from the schedule again on July 23, 2020. It ultimately premiered at the
2021 Cannes Film Festival and was released on October 22, 2021. Murray reprised his role as Peter Venkman in
Jason Reitman's
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021). Fellow
Ghostbusters cast members also reprised their roles including
Dan Aykroyd,
Ernie Hudson,
Sigourney Weaver and
Annie Potts. The film was a critical and commercial success. In October 2021, Murray joined the cast of the superhero film
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe. He appeared in Peter Farrelly's
biographical war comedy-drama film The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) alongside
Zac Efron and
Russell Crowe. It debuted at the
2022 Toronto International Film Festival where it received mixed reviews. It later debuted on
Apple TV+. In 2024, he starred opposite
Naomi Watts in the comedy
The Friend which premiered at the
Telluride Film Festival. In 2025, he reunited with
Wes Anderson in a minor role in the comedy
The Phoenician Scheme, his tenth collaboration with the director. Also in 2025, he returned to
Saturday Night Live for their the
50th Anniversary Special where he ranked his favorite "
Weekend Update" anchors. == Other ventures ==