David Marchese

We'll be right back.

From the New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm David Marchese. In Bill Murray's new movie, The Friend, which is based on a great novel by Sigrid Nunez, he plays Walter, Walter's best friends with Iris, played by Naomi Watts. Through a surprising course of events, Iris winds up having to take in Walter's Great Dane.

From the New York Times, this is The Interview. I'm David Marchese. In Bill Murray's new movie, The Friend, which is based on a great novel by Sigrid Nunez, he plays Walter, Walter's best friends with Iris, played by Naomi Watts. Through a surprising course of events, Iris winds up having to take in Walter's Great Dane.

And by the way, Iris lives alone in a modest apartment in Manhattan, so not exactly ideal for a dog the size of a small horse, and not exactly nice of Walter. Like so many of Murray's late career characters, Walter is funny and charismatic, but he's also kind of a jerk. He's resentful and self-centered, and he's caused some real damage.

And by the way, Iris lives alone in a modest apartment in Manhattan, so not exactly ideal for a dog the size of a small horse, and not exactly nice of Walter. Like so many of Murray's late career characters, Walter is funny and charismatic, but he's also kind of a jerk. He's resentful and self-centered, and he's caused some real damage.

Now, I'm a huge Bill Murray fan, and I sometimes imagine those more recent roles as kind of like alternate world versions of the comedy characters that made him a superstar. Because Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters or Phil Connors in Groundhog Day depict just two examples. They could be selfish and even cruel, but in the end, they always get away with it.

Now, I'm a huge Bill Murray fan, and I sometimes imagine those more recent roles as kind of like alternate world versions of the comedy characters that made him a superstar. Because Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters or Phil Connors in Groundhog Day depict just two examples. They could be selfish and even cruel, but in the end, they always get away with it.

Maybe this is a little too much cosmic thinking on my part, but it's almost as if latter-day Bill Murray characters are suffering the karmic payback owed to his earlier ones. That tension between being beloved and leaving damage behind him is something that's come up in Murray's off-screen life, too.

Maybe this is a little too much cosmic thinking on my part, but it's almost as if latter-day Bill Murray characters are suffering the karmic payback owed to his earlier ones. That tension between being beloved and leaving damage behind him is something that's come up in Murray's off-screen life, too.

Just a few years ago, in 2022, he was alleged to have behaved inappropriately with a female staff member on the set of the film Being Mortal. She said that he straddled her and kissed her through masks, which they were both wearing as part of COVID protocols. The production was shut down, and eventually they reached a settlement.

Just a few years ago, in 2022, he was alleged to have behaved inappropriately with a female staff member on the set of the film Being Mortal. She said that he straddled her and kissed her through masks, which they were both wearing as part of COVID protocols. The production was shut down, and eventually they reached a settlement.

And further back, directors and co-stars like Geena Davis, Lucy Liu, Richard Dreyfuss, and Harold Ramis have said Murray was, to put it lightly, not always the easiest to work with. So how do all these sides of Bill Murray fit together? Well, at a hotel in Manhattan, accompanied by my producer Annabelle and a publicist named Charlie, I got a chance to find out.

And further back, directors and co-stars like Geena Davis, Lucy Liu, Richard Dreyfuss, and Harold Ramis have said Murray was, to put it lightly, not always the easiest to work with. So how do all these sides of Bill Murray fit together? Well, at a hotel in Manhattan, accompanied by my producer Annabelle and a publicist named Charlie, I got a chance to find out.

Here's my interview with Bill Murray. Are you David? I'm David. I'm Bill.

Here's my interview with Bill Murray. Are you David? I'm David. I'm Bill.

I'm good, thank you.

I'm good, thank you.

Would it be helpful if I gave you a little spiel at the beginning about what we're doing? Do you feel like you need some... A spiel? A spiel. Give me a spiel. So this is for the New York Times where we have a recurring interview feature we call The Interview. And I know you're doing this at the end of a long... tiring, probably kind of tedious day. So I appreciate that you're doing it.

Would it be helpful if I gave you a little spiel at the beginning about what we're doing? Do you feel like you need some... A spiel? A spiel. Give me a spiel. So this is for the New York Times where we have a recurring interview feature we call The Interview. And I know you're doing this at the end of a long... tiring, probably kind of tedious day. So I appreciate that you're doing it.

Would you be more comfortable?