Bill Murray delivered an honest remembrance of his “The Royal Tenenbaums” co-star Gene Hackman on Thursday, calling him a “brilliant” actor but saying he was a “tough nut” who was “really rough” on director Wes Anderson.
The Oscar-winning actor, known for “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” was found dead in his Santa Fe home on Wednesday at 95, alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog. Their deaths have been ruled “suspicious” and are currently being investigated by police.
“He was a tough nut, Gene Hackman. But he was really good,” Murray said in an interview with the Associated Press. “And he was really difficult, we can say it now, but he was a tough guy. Older, great actors do not give young directors much of a chance. They’re really rough on them, and Gene was really rough on Wes. I used to kind of step in there and just try to defend my friend.”
Hackman played the family patriarch, Royal O’Reilly Tenenbaum, in the 2001 comedy-drama that helped establish Anderson as a director. It was only his third feature, and Anderson was 32 years old at the time of its release. Murray, a frequent Anderson collaborator, played neurologist Raleigh St. Clair, the husband of Royal’s daughter Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Murray said that he once watched Hackman “do like 25 takes where he did it perfectly with an actor who kept blowing it every single time.”
“Gene would do it perfectly, the other actor would blow it and I’d go like, ‘Oh, God.’ I was watching it going, ‘No wonder this guy wants to throttle people,’” Murray continued. “And then he sort of gave an ordinary performance and the other actor got it right and I thought Gene was going to throw the actor off the ledge of the building.”
Murray elaborated further on his comments during an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show,” telling the host that he felt for Hackman while filming “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
“I sympathize with Gene because to him, Wes Anderson was just a punk kid and Gene’s made some of the greatest American movies. So he was a little irritable,” Murray said. “But he had to work with children, dogs, Kumar [Pallana, who played valet Pagoda], who was like an absolute mystery to all of us anyway. They put him in very challenging positions to work, and so he just felt a lot of responsibility and kept thinking, ‘What am I doing here with these people?’ But the performance he gives is brilliant. And I watched him, and I suffered with him because I saw what he was going through.”
When Barrymore asked if Hackman eventually came around to liking the film once he saw the final cut, Murray said he believes so.
“He was not an ignorant man, he was a bright guy. When he saw the movie, he had to go, ‘Well, I acted like a jerk.’ I’m sure he did, because when you see the movie, it’s a real piece of work,” Murray said. “Wes Anderson makes great movies and so does Gene Hackman, and you put them both in the same room and what are you going to get? You’re gonna get a good movie.”
Murray concluded his tribute with: “So goodbye, Gene, I hope you’re well wherever you are.”
Watch Murray’s full interview on “The Drew Barrymore Show” below.
