{"id":708147,"date":"2026-07-24T02:55:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:55:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/708147\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T02:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T02:55:13","slug":"the-2014-movie-role-bill-murray-called-the-worst-kind-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/708147\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2014 movie role Bill Murray called “the worst kind of work”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bill<\/p>\n

Credit: Far Out \/ Harald Krichel<\/p>\n

Thu 23 July 2026 19:45, UK <\/p>\n

Even though he\u2019ll always be best known for his comedy work, Bill Murray<\/a> is no slouch in the drama department, either. However, there\u2019s one specific type of acting that he can\u2019t stand, which didn\u2019t stop him from playing a role where he\u2019d be required to do just that.<\/p>\n

As so many filmmakers and co-stars have stated over the years, Murray doesn\u2019t do anything that he doesn\u2019t want to do, whether that\u2019s accept a role in a movie, collaborate with a certain creative, or even the simple things, like being nice to his colleagues and not acting like an arsehole<\/a> every chance he gets.<\/p>\n

That makes it a little surprising that he\u2019d agree to star in a picture where his least favourite kind of acting was central to the character he played, but then again, the story of how he ended up agreeing to board writer and director Ted Melfi\u2019s St Vincent was enough of an odyssey in itself<\/a> to suggest that he\u2019d be open to trying almost anything.<\/p>\n

In the 2014 dramedy, the Saturday Night Live alum plays the title character, a curmudgeonly Vietnam veteran who develops an unlikely friendship with the 12-year-old boy who lives next door. When he becomes the kid\u2019s babysitter, he takes the little fella along on a string of oddball adventures to such child-friendly places as the horse track, the strip joint, and the odd dive bar.<\/p>\n

Midway through the film, Murray\u2019s Vincent MacKenna suffers a stroke and undergoes physical therapy, and losing some of his faculties ultimately plunges the character into depression, along with all of the other wayward goings-on in his life. It was integral to the narrative, but that didn\u2019t mean the star was keen on the idea when he first read the script.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really was a big, leading part,\u201d he reflected. \u201cI thought to myself, \u2018God, I haven\u2019t had to be the leading part in a while.\u201d As for playing a stroke victim, which included adopting slurred speech, Murray acknowledged that it was a terrifying prospect: \u201cScared me, too, I hate that not-having-your-faculties acting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since he wasn\u2019t a trained actor, it took Murray outside of his comfort zone<\/a>. Even if it was inside his comfort zone, though, he still wouldn\u2019t have been a fan. \u201cThat\u2019s like acting school,\u201d he went on. \u201cI don\u2019t want to go to acting school, ever. That was like doing ordinals or cleaning paint with a small razor blade. It\u2019s the worst kind of work. Deep cleaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further reading: Cutting Room Floor<\/p>\n

It was all in service of the character, and as much as he doesn\u2019t like the idea of doing anything with a role that veers too close towards the overly and obviously performative, the veteran was so enthused by the prospect of St Vincent in general that he overcame his aversion and did it anyway.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t for nothing, either, with Murray\u2019s turn earning him a Golden Globe nomination for \u2018Best Actor \u2013 Musical or Comedy\u2019 for headlining a movie that was nominated for \u2018Best Picture\u2019 in the corresponding category, so doing \u201cthe worst kind of work\u201d didn\u2019t turn out too bad.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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