Don’t get Rob Schneider started on working with Bill Murray.
The comedian and Saturday Night Live alum had a lot to say about the_Ghostbusters_ star during a Wednesday appearance on SiriusXM’s Jim Norton &Sam Roberts. When one of the hosts noted that Jaws actor Robert Shaw, whoplayed Quint, was rumored to have been difficult on the set of theblockbuster, Schneider brought up Murray.
“That’s the same thing with Bill Murray,” Schneider said. “I won’t say who thefilmmaker was, but ‘Bill Murray is gonna come, he’s gonna change the…dialogue. He’s gonna change things, and it’s gonna be great, but you don’tknow who you’re gonna get. Which Bill Murray you’re gonna get. The nice BillMurray? Or you’re gonna get the tough Bill Murray?'”
He noted that while Murray, who was an SNL cast member himself more than adecade before Schneider, has a reputation for being delightful in hisinteractions with the public — popping up at engagement photo sessions andserving up beers — his personal experience was different.
“He’s super nice to fans. He wasn’t very nice to us,” Schneider said. “Hehated us on Saturday Night Live when he hosted. Absolutely hated us. I mean,seething.”
Bill Murray performs on Saturday Night Live on Feb. 15, 2015. (Photo: TheoWargo/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)
After leaving the sketch show, Murray came back to host the episode that airedon Feb. 20, 1993, a week after his now classic movie Groundhog Day debutedat the box office. That was the iteration of the cast that featured futuremovie stars Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. Schneider said Murray was notimpressed.
“He hated Chris Farley with a passion,” Schneider said. “Like he was justseeing things looking at him. I don’t know exactly [why]but I want to believethat it’s because Chris thought it was cool to be [John] Belushi — who [was]his friend who he saw die — that he thought it was cool to be that out ofcontrol. That’s my interpretation, but I don’t really know. I don’t believeit. I only believe it 50 percent.”
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Farley infamously died of a drug overdose in 1997, just two years after heleft the NBC late-night staple. But during his life, he was open about hisadoration for the late Belushi, who had himself died of an overdose in 1982,after having been on SNL with Murray. Both were 33.
Schneider insisted that Farley was not the only one who didn’t receiveMurray’s approval.
“He just hated, like, all of us, pretty much. The least of the hate was tome…. I took great pleasure in that he hated me less,” he said with a laugh.”Because he’s my hero.”
Then Schneider was asked how he could tell that Murray disliked them.
“You just saw the way he looked at [Farley]and it was just naked rage, youknow?” he said. “I mean, he hated [Adam] sandler. Really hated Sandler, too.Murray. He just wasn’t into that groove of it, you know? And Sandler was justcommitted to it, and just like…as soon as he would get on, you could see theaudience just ate him up, you know?”
A lawyer for Murray, who traditionally has not employed a publicist and isknown for being difficult to reach, did not respond to Yahoo Entertainment’srequest for comment.
Just this week, a new report from Puck revealed that Murray paid a $100,000settlement for his allegedly inappropriate behavior on the set of the AzizAnsari-directed movie Being Mortal. The production shut down in April,following a complaint about the incident by an unidentified member of theproduction. Multiple sources told the publication that Murray straddled afemale production staffer on a bed on the set. He also kissed her on themouth, though both were wearing masks. He has said that he meant it as a joke.
Actress Geena Davis, who co-starred with Murray in 1990’s Quick Change wrotein her memoir, Dying of Politeness , which was released Tuesday, that shehad a bad experience with him, too. She said Murray had insisted on using amassager on her during their first meeting, then later screamed at her infront of everyone.