10 Movie Characters Who Were Only There To Die

7. Bill Murray - Zombieland

Deadpool 2
Sony Pictures

He might not be without controversy, but Bill Murray is one fine actor.

Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Caddyshack, Lost in Translation, anything directed by Wes Anderson. Murray has his fingerprints across so much amazing cinema that it's hard to believe he only has ten of them.

One of his briefest, yet most brilliant roles came in 2009's Zombieland where he plays... himself.

Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and Wichita (Emma Stone) stumble across Murray hiding out in his mansion, where he has survived the outbreak of "mad zombie disease'. He's made himself up to look like a zombie to avoid drawing the attention of real flesh-eaters, but this cosplay eventually leads to his downfall.

The star goes to play a prank on Columbus (Jessie Eisenberg) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). He sneaks up on them as if he were a zombie, which backfires horribly when Columbus accidentally shoots him dead.

Making practical jokes during an apocalypse should have been one of the rules.

From the moment Murray turned up as himself, it was clear that he was going to die in some funny way. The cameo is a brief but welcome addition to the movie, one that helped elevate it to modern classic status.

Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.