Bill Murray once turned down the chance to star in a major movie with Clint Eastwood – a decision which he now bitterly regrets. The 71-year-old, who hails from Illinois, was uncertain about embarking on a “military movie” in case he was typecast – and he opted out. Just a few years after the ill-fated 1981 phone call between the two stars, Eastwood went on to make the war film ‘Heartbreak Ridge’, without Bill included.
Emmy Award-winning Murray, who is famed for his Saturday Night Live shows, looked on from the sidelines as Eastwood took on the role of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway in the epic film. He has now shared with Howard Stern the disappointment he felt at missing out. “It’s one of the few regrets I have is that I didn’t do it, because it was a big-scale thing,” he confided. “I don’t know if I’d have gotten a great death scene, it was more of a comedy, that one – but it was great. He had access to World War II boats and he could have like made a flotilla and stuff,” Murray marvelled. “When I see him, I’m like: ‘I’m sorry, I wish I’d done that Clint, I’m really sorry.’”
However, he added that his fellow silver screen star is a “resilient fella” who is now “well over” the rejection.
Murray went on to explain how the invitation took place, as the pair chatted during a 1981 phone call following his creation of the hit comedy ‘Stripes’.
He’d been avidly watching films like ‘Thunderbolt and Lightfoot’ and was desperate to join one of Eastwood’s future films, noting that his sidekicks always seemed to be given “epic death scenes”.
However, Eastwood was keen to get him involved in “another service comedy” instead – and he wasn’t too keen.
He confessed his worries, as published by Variety magazine, saying: “Would I become like Abbott and Costello? I had to do, like, military movies?”
Murray concluded: “I said, ‘Well, God, I guess maybe I shouldn’t.'”
Despite the crushing disappointment he later felt about turning a promising role down, one consolation was that ‘Stripes’ proved to be a huge success.
That year, it ended up winning the status of fifth highest grossing film at the box office across the entire USA.
Meanwhile, John Wayne and Frank Sinatra also passed up huge opportunities to be in Clint Eastwood’s movies – find out why here.