Bill Murray is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, having made a name for himself with a plethora of hit films over the years. According to the actor himself, he doesn’t have many regrets, though there remains one film he rejected in the 80s that he’s still regretting today.
Murray discussed the role that got away during a recent interview on The Howard Stern Show. The Ghostbusters star remembered how in the early 80s, he was really enjoying the movies Clint Eastwood would put out. Though Eastwood’s sidekicks would often get killed, they were still great parts to play, leaving Murray with a desire to team up with the Dirty Harry actor. After Murray personally contacted him, they discussed possibly co-starring in a movie focused on the Navy. The problem was that Murray was worried about getting typecast in military-themed films, as he was coming off of starring in Stripes, which was about the U.S. Army.
“A long time ago I was watching the Clint Eastwood movies of the day, like Thunderbolt and Lightfoot or whatever the hell movies he was making then, and I thought, ‘His sidekick gets killed, and he avenges, but the sidekick gets like a great part, a great death scene,'” Murray said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to call this guy.’ So I called him out of the blue, and he said, ‘Would you ever want to do another service comedy?’ Because I had just made Stripes and he had this great idea for an enormous Navy thing.”
Would you ever want to do another service comedy?
He added, “And when he said, ‘Would you ever want to do another service comedy,’ like jeez, ‘Would I become like Abbott and Costello?’ I had to do like military movies? And I said, ‘Well, God, I guess maybe I shouldn’t.’”
“It’s one of the few regrets I have, is that I didn’t do it,” he continued. “It was a big scale thing, and I would have gotten a great… I don’t know if I would’ve gotten a great death scene, it was more of a comedy, that one. But, he had access to World War II boats, and he and he could have made a flotilla and stuff. There was some cool stuff in it. And, when I see him, I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, I wish I’d done that.’ He’s certainly well over it, but [I regret it]. He’s a very resilient fellow.”
Bill Murray Missed Out on Co-Starring With Clint Eastwood
Murray didn’t state the name of the film, but it was likely Heartbreak Ridge. Released in 1986, the film was directed by Eastwood who also starred in the lead role alongside Everett McGill and Mario Van Peebles. The film follows a U.S. Marine nearing retirement who leads a team of undisciplined Marines during the American invasion of Grenada. Though it’s a wear film, it also had elements of dark comedy.