# Is Bill Murray a jerk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958 "2014-09-09T13:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/21 "2014-09-09T16:28:41Z")
I think between him and his brother Brian, it would be more fun to hang out with Brian. He seems to have a more outgoing personality to me. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/22 "2014-09-09T16:32:02Z")
> [@campp](#): > > I’ve heard that applied to Steve Martin, but never Murray. [Some people, I think, are being whooshed by this comment.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerk) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/23 "2014-09-09T16:35:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > [Some people, I think, are being whooshed by this comment.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jerk) Possibly, but Martin actually is known for being a bit of a jerk, so it’s not a whoosh so much as a joke with two meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/24 "2014-09-09T16:46:10Z")
> [@JesterX](#): > > The best measure of whether an actor/actress is a jerk is how much work they do. No matter how famous or powerful an actor gets, nobody wants to work with an asshole. So I could believe Steve Martin is a jerk because you don’t see him getting a lot of work. Whereas Bill Murray has worked consistently his entire career. 😕 Martin has also worked pretty consistently. [Here’s just his filmography.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin_filmography) If it’s slowed down in the last couple of years, it may be because he’s paying more attention to his musical career and/or his new family. But it’s a good point in general that there’s a significant difference between being a jerk to the people you work with, and coming across as a jerk to the general public. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/25 "2014-09-09T17:01:09Z")
The characters Bill Murray plays are usually jerks. And we love it because we in the audience are on his side when we’re watching his movies. It’s fun to watch Peter Venkman mock Walter Peck or Carl Spackler mock Lou Loomis or John Winger mock Sgt Hulka or Phil Connors mock Ned Ryerson or Sgt Campbell mock Pvt Savitz. But then some people encounter Bill Murray and real life and he does the same thing. He makes fun of somebody he’s met. And that person is no longer in the audience - he’s now the subject of Bill Murray’s mocking. And the same guy who laughed when Bill Murray’s character made fun of somebody else will now be thinking Bill Murray himself is a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/26 "2014-09-09T17:09:55Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The characters Bill Murray plays are usually jerks. And we love it because we in the audience are on his side when we’re watching his movies. It’s fun to watch Peter Venkman mock Walter Peck or Carl Spackler mock Lou Loomis or John Winger mock Sgt Hulka or Phil Connors mock Ned Ryerson or Sgt Campbell mock Pvt Savitz. > > But then some people encounter Bill Murray and real life and he does the same thing. He makes fun of somebody he’s met. And that person is no longer in the audience - he’s now the subject of Bill Murray’s mocking. And the same guy who laughed when Bill Murray’s character made fun of somebody else will now be thinking Bill Murray himself is a jerk. I’ve always been of the mind that to be great at playing a jerk, you have to be at least _a little_ bit, if not a lot like that way to begin with. Take Vince Vaughn, for example. In most of his roles, particularly in _Swingers_, and especially in _Made_, he’s a colossal prick, just a complete loudmouthed, blowhard jackass. He has to be at least partly like that in real life, because **nobody** is that good of an actor (and I have it on good authority that he is in fact that guy in real life). ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/27 "2014-09-09T17:19:40Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’ve always been of the mind that to be great at playing a jerk, you have to be at least _a little_ bit, if not a lot like that way to begin with. I don’t know; the impression I’ve gotten (from listening to DVD commentaries and such) is that, often, the most egotistical, jerkish actors insist on being portrayed onscreen as Really Great Guys, while the more generous performers and nicer-in-real-life people are often the most willing to play jerkish characters. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/28 "2014-09-09T17:31:02Z")
I think Bill Murray is just genuinely eccentric. Some of his antics may be off putting to some. To me I think it’s fantastic. From photo bombing random strangers, to getting up in front of random wedding receptions to sing, to giving toasts at random bachelor parties, to calling up Mitch Glazer everytime Roadhouse is on to tell him that Patrick Swayze is fucking his wife on tv RIGHT NOW. I love it all. I think earlier in his career he was more manic and probably more of a jerk. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/29 "2014-09-09T18:09:37Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think Bill Murray is just genuinely eccentric. Speaking of Bill Murray acting eccentrically, he apparently recently [took the wheel for a taxi driver so the cabbie could play the saxophone for him while he made his way to his destination;](http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2014/09/08/bill-murray-took-control-of-taxi-in-oakland-to-hear-drivers-sax-skills/) > [@](#): > > The star made the revelation during an appearance at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada on Friday, which organizers had named Bill Murray Day, when he recalled how his cab driver on Thursday night had mentioned he was a saxophone player. > > He explained, “I said, ‘When do you practice?’ He said, ‘I drive 14 hours a day.’” > > The response prompted Murray to offer to swap places with the taxi driver, who agreed to perform for the movie star from the backseat of the car. > > Murray continued, “Not only did he play all the way to Sausalito, which is a long way, we stopped and got barbecue. He (wound up) playing in what some would call a sketchy, weird place in Oakland at 2:15 in the morning… It was great and it made for a beautiful night!” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/30 "2014-09-09T19:16:30Z")
Well… there was this… > **[Bill Murray Accused Of Drug, Spouse Abuse](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/bill-murray-accused-drug-spouse-abuse)** > > MAY 29--Bill Murray is a drug-addicted spousal abuser and serial adulterer who has abandoned his family, according to a scathing divorce filing by his estranged wife. > Jennifer Murray alleges that the ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/31 "2014-09-09T19:18:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’ve always been of the mind that to be great at playing a jerk, you have to be at least _a little_ bit, if not a lot like that way to begin with. > > Take Vince Vaughn, for example. In most of his roles, particularly in _Swingers_, and especially in _Made_, he’s a colossal prick, just a complete loudmouthed, blowhard jackass. He has to be at least partly like that in real life, because **nobody** is that good of an actor (and I have it on good authority that he is in fact that guy in real life). > [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I don’t know; the impression I’ve gotten (from listening to DVD commentaries and such) is that, often, the most egotistical, jerkish actors insist on being portrayed onscreen as Really Great Guys, while the more generous performers and nicer-in-real-life people are often the most willing to play jerkish characters. Either way, Murray is going to appear to be a jerk to some people. As I noted, his characters are based on being a jerk to people. If he plays the character in public, then some people will be upset he’s acting like a jerk. But if he doesn’t act like a jerk, some people will be upset with him for not playing the character he plays in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/32 "2014-09-09T19:38:30Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Well… there was this… > > [Bill Murray Accused Of Drug, Spouse Abuse | The Smoking Gun](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/bill-murray-accused-drug-spouse-abuse) Post #15. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/33 "2014-09-09T20:03:41Z")
Bill Murray can do no wrong in my book. Just looking at his face cracks me up. ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/34 "2014-09-09T20:22:02Z")
Well he was certainly a jerk in Scrooged and Groundhog so do the math, internet message board psychologists/lunatics. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/35 "2014-09-09T20:32:44Z")
The story I heard was that when Murray was filming _Where the Buffalo Roam_ he dived a little too deeply into his Hunter S. Thomson character and became hard to work with. However, once the fiming completed he turned back to normal. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/36 "2014-09-09T20:48:36Z")
He’s become quite popular recently in part due the owners of internet humor website, The Chive, being huge fans and promoting him. They’re the source of all the t-shirts you might see around. I recommend watching Murray’s recent hour long Charlie Rose [interview](http://www.hulu.com/watch/595859). He doesn’t seem to be a jerk there. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/37 "2014-09-09T22:20:04Z")
Everybody’s a jerk. You. Me. _This_ jerk. That’s my philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/38 "2014-09-09T23:02:31Z")
My sister met him at a bar on PCH . She thought he was a friend she hadn’t seen in awhile. Tapped him on the arm and started talking to him like they were long lost friends. He wasn’t a jerk to her and chatted a bit , then she realized who he was. She was embarrassed but he laughed it off. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/39 "2014-09-09T23:21:07Z")
Saw him in a restaurant in Ithaca a couple years ago. Ithacans were pretty good about respecting him, and let him eat dinner, but then afterwards he seemed to be fair game. But he was very pleasant and smiling in all the pictures that were taken of him with waitstaff. I didn’t have the nerve to speak to him, but observed courteous, friendly, good-natured behavior. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958/40 "2014-09-09T23:26:29Z")
He seems to enjoy pushing buttons for his amusement, that’s it. If someone gets rubbed the wrong way, that’s their problem, but he doesn’t seem like the type to e.g. berate a server. Stories from the internet: Supposedly he has done something weird in front of a person, and tells them “no one will ever believe you.” The “something” varies by account, which suggests that it’s either fake or he’s done it multiple times. He [addresses it in an interview](http://www.gq.com/entertainment/celebrities/201008/bill-murray-dan-fierman-gq-interview?currentPage=4). Well, not really. Dan Ackroyd is often associated/conflated. He has Asperger’s, which I could see translating to some fans thinking he is a jerk. But as mentioned in the interview (page 2), he would then be the worst Canadian ever. I haven’t heard anything specifically bad and Murray speaks positively of him. Over the last few years, Murray has [shown up a few times](http://www.bustle.com/articles/25840-bill-murray-crashes-bachelor-party-7-other-times-hes-proven-to-be-a-celebrity-unicorn) at some 20-something’s party or [bachelor party](http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/bill-murray-crashes-bachelor-party-gives-awesome-speec-1581953280/+tcberman), somewhat uninvited, hung out and entertained, and even volunteered to help clean up and [do the dishes](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/10/15/bill-murray-does-dishes-at-students-party-in-scotland/). [There is a website dedicated to them](http://www.billmurraystory.com/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-bill-murray-a-jerk/697958.md?page=3)