Ranking 10 Most Prolific Actor-Director Duos Of All Time

Collaborations: Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel

What perhaps looked to be the twilight of his career -- at least to those who thought he'd fallen off a cliff after Groundhog Day -- actually turned out to be a sublimely successful resurgence for Bill Murray. Sure, the laugh-a-minute schlubs he played in Ghostbusters and Caddyshack remain indelible characters in Murray's acting library, but there's something magical about his appearances in Wes Anderson's goofy universe.

Anyone unsure about this more subdued, cerebral version of Murray after this duo's unexpected debut in Rushmore could rest easy by the time The Life Aquatic hit store shelves. Anderson didn't "tame" Murray, as some critics like to say, he just sequestered his comedic energies into a very particular space.

And what an impeccable, peculiar space it is. Anderson tends to use his actors the way an artist wields watercolors, but Murray is an acrylic all the way. He finds a way to stand out without really trying, a gift that's practically tailor-made for this director's lens.

Their collaboration doesn't appear to be slowing down much, with the upcoming Isle of Dogs, a stop-motion adventure that will most assuredly follow in the grand tradition of knocking your socks off.