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At first Bill Murray was a goofball, a lounge singer or a guy that tried to blow up a gopher. Graduating to movie stardom, he soon found a style of detached cool that worked like gangbusters, or ghostbusters. In movies like Stripes](Stripes (1981) - Movie | Moviefone) and Ghostbusters](Ghostbusters (1984) - Movie | Moviefone), he would make wry comments while the rest of his co-stars acted their parts; he rarely got involved in the drama. But it worked. A decade later, however, he could be seen giving an actual performance in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore](Rushmore (1999) - Movie | Moviefone) (1998). He was still funny, but he found a real emotional connection with his co-stars, and he was touching. From there, you could easily look back and find other moments of greatness: his bit parts in films like Tootsie](Tootsie (1982) - Movie | Moviefone), Ed Wood](http://www.cinematical.com/2009/08/11/scenes-we-love-ed-wood/), Kingpin](Kingpin (1996) - Movie | Moviefone) and Wild Things](Wild Things (1998) - Movie | Moviefone), his abrasive gangster in Mad Dog and Glory](Mad Dog and Glory (1993) - Movie | Moviefone), in the very dark, anxious and underrated Quick Change](Quick Change (1990) - Movie | Moviefone), which was his directorial debut (a shared credit), and especially the whole of Groundhog Day](Groundhog Day (1993) - Movie | Moviefone) (1993), which looks more and more like an American classic every day. But none of these is Murray’s best role.
After Rushmore, he became someone to keep an eye on – almost like a legendary character actor – and he did not disappoint. He turned in unusual, funny little performances in the ensemble Cradle Will Rock](Cradle Will Rock (1999) - Movie | Moviefone), as a terrific Polonius in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0171359/), as Bosley in Charlie’s Angels](Charlie's Angels (2000) - Movie | Moviefone), bearded Raleigh St. Clair in Anderson’s amazing The Royal Tenenbaums](The Royal Tenenbaums (2002) - Movie | Moviefone), in a bit with The RZA and The GZA in Jim Jarmusch’s Coffee and Cigarettes](Coffee and Cigarettes (2004) - Movie | Moviefone) and as a washed-up comic in Cuba in Andy Garcia’s underrated The Lost City](The Lost City (2005) - Movie | Moviefone). But none of these is Murray’s best role.
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