William James Murray is an American actor and comedian, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas.
Murray became a national presence on Saturday Night Live from 1977 to 1980, receiving a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. He established his stardom by acting in a string of successful comedy films, including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Scrooged (1988), Quick Change (1990) and What About Bob? (1991). He also had supporting roles in Tootsie (1982), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Ed Wood (1994), Kingpin (1996) and Osmosis Jones (2001). Murray also starred as Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters (1984), and Ghostbusters II (1989) and has reprised his role in various projects within the Ghostbusters franchise.
Murray's performance in Groundhog Day (1993) earned him critical acclaim and roles in more serious films. He began his collaboration with director Wes Anderson with Rushmore (1998), which earned him an Independent Spirit Award. He went on to appear in many of Anderson's films, including The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018) and The French Dispatch (2021). He starred in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003), earning him Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Other notable films roles include Broken Flowers (2005), City of Ember (2008), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), The Monuments Men (2014), Rock the Kasbah (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).
For his role in the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), he earned his second Primetime Emmy Award. In 2016, Murray was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
