10 Ridiculous Ways Actors Were TRICKED Into Movie Roles
5. Garfield - Bill Murray Thought The Movie Was Being Made By The Coen Brothers
12 months after one of his finest performances in Lost In Translation, Bill Murray became the voice of Garfield. The decision was deemed a head scratcher by many at the time; Murray was on a hot streak and had just bagged a Golden Globe. To follow it up with a less than stellar tale of a cat and his love of lasagne was just plain foolish.
A Reddit AMA revealed all when Bill Murray cited two very similarly named talents in Hollywood: Joel Coen and Joel Cohen. Joel Coen is of course half of the legendary Coen Brothers duo and the director of modern classics such as The Big Lebowski and No Country For Old Men. Joel Cohen is the writer of several light, rather forgettable family flicks such as the Cheaper By The Dozen remake, Daddy Day Camp and of course, Garfield.
Murray signed on under the assumption he was working with the Coen over the Cohen. He soon realised his mistake though by that point it was much too late. Despite Murray making clear several times he wanted to do the film due to his being a fan of the Coen Brothers, no one bothered to correct his mistake.
Despite citing his disdain for the quality of the script, Murray curiously returned for a Garfield 2. Perhaps the pay cheques eased the sting of this one.