10 Best Bill Murray Movies

The start of a golden era: the first time Bill Murray and Wes Anderson joined forces. Murray plays Herman Blume, a wealthy but depressed businessman who strikes up an odd friendship with hyper-ambitious teen Max Fischer. When they both fall for the same teacher, their friendship turns into an absurd war. Murray gives the character a weary melancholy that fits Anderson's stylized world perfectly, proving he was much more than the 80s funnyman.

In Sofia Coppola's hands, Murray delivered his most vulnerable performance ever. As Bob Harris, a faded movie star shooting a whisky commercial in Japan, he embodies ultimate loneliness. The unexpected bond with Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is fragile and beautiful, and the film thrives on what's left unsaid. That famous final whisper? We'll never know what he said, and that's the magic. It earned him a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

The ultimate concept film. Murray plays Phil Connors, an arrogant weatherman stuck in a time loop, forced to relive the same day in a dreary small town. At first he uses it for his own gain, then becomes suicidal, before finally becoming a better person. It's a comedy but also a philosophical masterpiece about the meaning of life, and nobody looks so deliciously bored while the world collapses around him.

'He slimed me.' Dr. Peter Venkman may be Murray's most iconic character. While his colleagues talk about ghosts scientifically, Venkman is mostly busy chasing women and doing as little work as possible. His improvisational talent shines; many of his funniest lines weren't even in the script. The perfect mix of supernatural action and Murray's trademark deadpan.

A real classic from his early years. Murray plays John Winger, a man who loses everything and decides the army is the only answer. Naturally, he's the least suitable recruit imaginable. A chaotic, cheeky army comedy in which Murray constantly mocks authority. His legendary speech comparing his team to mutts is Bill Murray in his purest, most rebellious form.

Murray has only a supporting role as the delightfully unhinged groundskeeper Carl Spackler, but he steals the whole film. His obsessive hunt for an elusive gopher is top-level slapstick, and nearly all his scenes were improvised. The scene in which he narrates an imaginary golf tournament while decapitating flowers is one of the funniest moments in film history.

Although Dustin Hoffman plays the lead, Murray is the secret ingredient as the roommate and playwright. He's the dry voice of reason in the crazy situation of Hoffman dressing as a woman, and his deadpan commentary from the sidelines adds an extra layer of humor. It shows how good Murray is in an ensemble.

Every psychiatrist's ultimate nightmare: a patient so dependent he follows you on vacation. Murray plays the neurotic Bob Wiley with such childlike enthusiasm that you love him despite his annoying behavior. The friction with the uptight Richard Dreyfuss is golden. Murray tied to a sailboat shouting 'I'm sailing!' is an image you won't soon forget.

In this restrained drama, Murray shows a very different side of his talent. He plays a sly 1930s funeral director who makes a deal with a mysterious hermit who wants to attend his own funeral while still alive. It's a film about guilt and forgiveness, and Murray brings humor to the heavy subject with a subtlety that shows how much he has grown as an actor.

Playing President Franklin D. Roosevelt is no small task, but Murray does it with flair. The film focuses on a 1939 weekend when the British king visits, seen through the eyes of Roosevelt's distant cousin and lover. Murray captures the charm, authority and physical vulnerability of the president in a nuanced way.

In another collaboration with Wes Anderson, Murray plays M. Ivan, a member of a secret society of concierges who helps save the famous hotel. He brings a certain nostalgia that makes the character completely believable in Anderson's colorful world, proving once again that Murray is a perfect match for Anderson's style.

Wes Anderson's colorful, playful underwater film is a gloriously bizarre masterpiece. Murray plays Steve Zissou, an obsessed documentary maker hunting the mysterious shark that ate his partner. With his typical deadpan humor and a brilliant ensemble cast, Murray makes this absurd adventure unforgettable.

Jim Jarmusch's contemplative road movie gives Murray one of his most introspective roles: an aging Don Juan who revisits his former lovers. Murray shows perfect melancholy and a certain lost elegance in this meditative and moving film.