The moment Bill Murray and Lucy Liu came to blows on the set of ‘Charlie’s Angels’: “What the hell are you doing here?”
Bill Murray has long been celebrated as one of Hollywood’s most endearing figures. Known for his laid-back attitude, the actor has become a cult favourite, whether bartending at frat parties, crashing weddings, or exuding the charm of a lovable uncle for generations. However, in recent years, cracks have begun to appear in this affable persona, with glimpses of a more complex and less carefree reality emerging.
Murray’s on-set reputation has not always matched his public persona, though, as illustrated by his long-standing feud with Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis, which spanned two decades. His contentious behaviour extended beyond directors to his co-stars. On Saturday Night Live, Murray endured a highly publicised altercation with Chevy Chase, and in Hollywood, his actions often sparked tension. In fact, Richard Dreyfuss described him as an “Irish drunken bully” during their time on What About Bob?, a claim he refrained from addressing for years. Anjelica Huston also expressed her own frustrations, recounting how Murray excluded her from a dinner for the cast of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. However, the most infamous clash was with Lucy Liu during the filming of Charlie’s Angels, which reportedly became a defining example of Murray’s problematic on-set behaviour.
It was on the set of Charlie’s Angels that the comic actor and fellow star Liu struggled to find common ground and ended up in a feud so bitter that it would mean Murray’s contribution to the franchise was cut dramatically. Murray and Liu rubbed each other up the wrong way as the two stars clashed during filming.
Never one to back down for an audience, tensions escalated. Soon enough, after a heated exchange, the two actors allegedly came to blows on the set of the action-packed remake. It made what should have been a simple cash cow project feel like an unstoppable trip to the slaughterhouse.
The 2000 movie, based on the earlier television series of the same name, famously saw Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu as the aforementioned Angels star alongside Bill Murray in the comedy thriller based on a private detective agency. It was a certified box office smash and would receive a sequel, which, perhaps not so surprisingly, Murray would have no part in. Many at the time suggested Murray had grown artistically weary of the character of Bosley, but, in fact, his omission is reportedly due to the altercation he had with Liu. Murray’s character was replaced by his adoptive brother, Jimmy Bosley. Murray seemed to have excellent on-screen chemistry with Diaz, Barrymore, and Liu, but this was unable to be replicated by Bernie Mac in the 2003 sequel, which missed Murray’s presence greatly.
On-screen, you would never know. Off-screen, however, the Ghostbusters star and Liu just didn’t click the first time they met, and the situation worsened as the film progressed. Soon enough, other cast members became all too used to the duo’s insistent verbal sparring. It made the set a tough place to work at times and would lead to the untimely removal of Murray’s comic relief from the franchise.
It is rumoured that Murray just never felt comfortable around the Elementary star. While those around the set struggled to understand the issue—including Liu herself—their ‘feud’ was only being amplified by the tension of hushed tones. According to a 2008 post on The Movie Blog, “People Magazine reported that Bill ‘loudly complained about her technique.’ People were being gentle.”
The post then goes on to detail what they allege really happened on that fateful day on set: “What actually transpired was much more intense. Bill Murray stopped a scene in progress and pointed to Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu, saying in order, ‘I get why you’re here, and you’ve got talent… but what in the hell are you doing here. You can’t act!’”
As one might imagine, such an assessment did not sit well with the actor: “At that, Liu blew her lid and attacked Murray, wildly throwing punches. The actors had to be separated to opposite corners of the room while they lobbed verbal hand grenades at each other.”
Under pressure from Columbia Pictures, both actors publicly downplayed the incident, but insiders suggested the truth was a little darker. Murray refused to work on any sequel with Liu, which led to his replacement by Bernie Mac. It’s unknown how much drama was actually involved in their relationship on-set or if Murray and Liu truly came to physical blows. However, the fact that Murray didn’t partake in the sequel does suggest that there is more than an ounce of truth in what the post alleges to have taken place.
Years later, Liu addressed the situation during an interview with Deadline. She said that he would “hurl insults” at her after a scene was reworked without his knowledge: “We had taken the weekend to rework that particular scene and Bill Murray was not able to come because he had to attend some family gathering,” she explained. “So it was everyone else, and we just made the scene more fluid”.
“I stood up for myself, and I don’t regret it,” she said. “Because no matter how low on the totem pole you may be or wherever you came from, there’s no need to condescend or to put other people down.”
“What came out in the press was that I was this and I was that. It was incredible to me how it was turned around, and they automatically thought that the woman was the difficult one,” she added. “But I didn’t understand how it got flipped when I had nothing to do with instigating it, or creating that platform of confrontation or anxiety.”
