In his 70 well-lived years on this planet, Bill Murray has starred in more than 60 movies and enriched the lives of millions who have seen them.
He’s perhaps our best-loved living comedian, a man who has thrived in Hollywood while remaining entirely in touch with those who watch him from their sofas around the world.
In his latest movie ‘On The Rocks’, released on Apple TV+ on Friday, he plays wayward playboy Felix, who joins forces with his daughter Laura (Rashida Jones) as they attempt to figure out if her husband (Marlon Wayans) is cheating on her.
The movies marks Bill’s reunion with ‘Lost In Translation’ director Sofia Coppola, and the critics seem united that it goes down as easily as one of Felix’s favored martinis.
But along with his acting and comedy prowess, Bill has also found himself in the accidental role of being one of the wisest men on earth.
And here are some of his best real-life pearls of wisdom.
Rashida Jones and Bill Murray in ‘On The Rocks’ // 📸: Apple TV+
BILL MURRAY ON…
FAME
“I think everyone becomes a jerk for about two years when they become famous. So I give people two years to figure it out and pull it together.”
“I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: ‘Try being rich first. See if that doesn’t cover most of it.’”
“There’s only a couple times when fame is ever helpful. Sometimes you can get into a restaurant where the kitchen is just closing. Sometimes you can avoid a traffic violation. But the only time it really matters is in the emergency room with your kids. That’s when you want to be noticed, because it’s very easy to get forgotten in ER.”
WORK
“Movie acting suits me because I only need to be good for 90 seconds at a time.”
“The more relaxed you are, the better you are. That’s sort of why I got into acting. I realized the more fun I had, the better I did it. And I thought, that’s a job I could be proud of. It’s changed my life learning that, and it’s made me better at what I do.”
“I’ve retired a couple of times. It’s great, because you can just say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I’m retired.’ And people will actually believe that you’ve retired. There are nutters out there that will go, ‘Oh, OK!’ and then leave you alone.”
PEOPLE
“People are like music. Some speak the truth, and others are just noise.”
“Common sense is like deodorant. The people who need it most never use it.”
“Friendship is so weird. You just pick a human you’ve met and you’re like, ‘Yep, I like this one,’ and you just do stuff with them.”
LIFE
“You’re supposed to have one hand up and one hand down. As you’re trying to going up, you’re trying to pull someone up at the same time.”
“Something wild can happen to anybody and I caution anybody that walks out on the street, just settle your accounts before you leave the house every day.”
“It’s hard to be an artist. It’s hard to be anything. It’s hard to be.”
HIMSELF
“I’m not an alcoholic, I only drink two times a year. When it’s my birthday, and when it’s not my birthday.”
“Melancholy is kind of sweet sometimes. It’s not a negative thing. It’s not a mean thing. It’s just something that happens in life, like autumn.”
“My relaxation is a complete collapse of a human being… I’m nothing but compost most of the time.”
AND FINALLY, GARFIELD: THE MOVIE
“It was sort of like ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ without the joy or the fun.”
