Sofia Coppola on why Bill Murray was “perfect” for ‘Lost in Translation’
There’s always been a level of nuance to the acting performances of Bill Murray. From his early days on Saturday Night Live to the hilarity of Caddyshack and Ghostbusters, Murray has consistently delivered the comedy goods, but he’s also had his fair share of tender moments too, most notably in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 romantic drama Lost in Translation.
Murray plays Bob Harris, a jaded American actor who travels to Tokyo to star in an advertisement for Suntory Whisky. Whilst there, he meets a recent college graduate, Charlotte (played by Scarlett Johansson), and the two develop an unlikely friendship that always seems to be on the precipice of bubbling over into genuine romance.
When Coppola spoke to Charlie Rose about her third feature film back in 2003, she admitted that she always saw Bill Murray in the lead role and that if he didn’t accept it, then there might not have been a film at all. “It’s true,” she said. “I had to do it with him. I just knew he was the perfect person for this.”
As for why Murray was so ideal for the role of Bob Harris, Coppola continued: “There’s just no one like him. I mean, he’s just Bill Murray. This great combination of funny and sensitive and sincere, and I wanted to see him in this romantic part that I’d seen him have moments of in Groundhog Day and Rushmore, and I wanted to do a film centring around him.”
Wanting Bill Murray for the role was one thing, but actually getting him to accept the job, let alone hear of it, was entirely another. After all, Murray is well-known for being notoriously difficult to get a hold of, so instantly, Coppola had a task on her hands, even with the leg up of having contacts with industry figures through her father.
Coppola explained Murray’s “elusive” nature, saying: “He’s not one of those people that checks in with his agent every day. He has his life outside of his business, his private life, and his family. So he doesn’t stay in touch with all the business people, which is unusual for people in the film industry.”
The director had to resort to “months of stalking him” before “luckily”, Wes Anderson – who Murray had worked with on Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums – put Coppola in contact with the actor and “put in a good word”. Eventually, the two sat down for dinner, and he accepted the job very quickly indeed.
Coppola admitted that “as a director, you have to persevere and have that kind of persistence”. She knew that Murray was the man she wanted for her movie, and she was damned if he wasn’t going to at least hear of it. And thank God he did accept the role because it remains one of his best on-screen moments.
