The one actor Bill Murray and George Clooney agree is the greatest: “Infinitely better than I’ve ever been”
George Clooney and Bill Murray don’t have an awful lot in common beyond their shared designation as Academy Award-nominated actors, and a winner, in the former’s case, and Hollywood mainstays.
That said, they both broke out on television, albeit separated by decades and genres. Murray rose to prominence after joining the cast of Saturday Night Live during its second season, while Clooney’s smouldering Doug Ross on ER helped the medical drama become the highest-rated show on TV.
They both experienced equally successful leaps to the silver screen, even if one took longer than the other. Murray was one of cinema’s biggest and most popular comedy stars by the end of the 1980s, whereas poor Clooney had to weather the storm of the diabolical Batman & Robin before finally staking a permanent claim on the A-list.
They worked together on The Monuments Men, which Clooney also co-wrote and directed, and they were both part of the voice cast on Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox. Who knows, maybe they spoke about the one actor they knew they’d never be able to match, although Murray’s fandom admittedly runs much deeper.
The only time he’s ever been starstruck was when he met Cary Grant, and he’s never seen any film more times than he’s seen North by Northwest. “If it’s on TV, I can’t not watch it,” he confessed. “Cary Grant is just stunning in that role, and he does so many things. He’s funny, he’s romantic, he’s heavy, he’s frightened. It’s a really nice performance, and he did it all the time.”
The downside, according to the Ghostbusters alum, was that because he “had this beautiful body and handsome face, people didn’t take it seriously.” That’s something Clooney can appreciate, because it took him a minute to convince people that his matinee idol looks weren’t his strongest asset, and that he could comfortably hold his own against the industry’s best actors in the dramatic stakes.
He’s used to being compared to legends of the past, too, with himself and Brad Pitt frequently dubbed the Paul Newman and Robert Redford of their generation, and Grant was another. There are definitely similarities between them in terms of star wattage, poise, and presence, but Clooney wouldn’t consider himself anything other than a distant second.
“They are all very complimentary, and they’ve been very nice, so take it with a grain of salt for what it’s worth and try to do the best you can,” he explained. “You know, I really think there are big differences. Cary Grant was infinitely better at what he did than I’ve ever been. Cary didn’t direct or write, so we’re sort of, actually, very different characters in that way.”
He’s right, since Clooney has been nominated for eight Oscars across six different categories as an actor, director, writer, and producer, with Grant earning two nods for his on-camera efforts and never being credited as anything other than a performer. Still, as different as they are, he and Murray maintain that even if they wanted to, they could never be Cary Grant.
