Eddie Murphy and Bill Murray Almost Starred in This ‘80s Comedy Blockbuster
Coulda shoulda woulda — when it comes to breakthrough ‘80s comedy Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, there’s a murderers’ row of comedians who might have taken on the lead role that eventually went to Bob Hoskins. Robin Williams, Wallace Shawn and Sylvester Stallone were reportedly considered to play beleaguered private dick Eddie Valiant, but two comedy superstars in particular wished they’d thought twice about taking the job: Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy.
According to director Robert Zemeckis on the film’s DVD commentary, he and producer Steven Spielberg had Murray at the very top of their list to play Eddie. There was only one problem — neither man knew how to get hold of the Ghostbusters star. That’s not surprising for those familiar with Murray legend. The comedian doesn’t employ an agent or manager; he instead uses an unlisted 800 number to collect his messages. Sometimes (like when Sofia Coppola hounded him about Lost In Translation), he learns about an acting opportunity. Other times, mostly because he doesn’t bother checking, he doesn’t.
“This was a way you could not answer any phone, and whenever you felt like engaging, you could check to see who had bothered to call and what the message was,” Murray told IndieWire. “It just freed up my life a whole lot.”
Don't Miss
It all works great until Murray misses out on once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. When he read a Zemeckis newspaper interview years later about being the first choice for Who Framed Roger Rabbit, he screamed in public. He says he definitely would have taken the job — if he’d known the offer was on the table.
That wasn’t the problem with Murphy. He knew Zemeckis and Spielberg were interested, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. “The only movie I ever turned down that became a big hit was that Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” he told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show in 2019.
“You were going to be in that?” asked Fallon.
“Yeah, I was going to be the Bob Hoskins dude,” Murphy explained. “And I was like, ‘What? Animation and people? That sounds like bull(NBC bleep) to me.’ Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot.”
Hoskins could tell Murray and Murphy that the role wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. His young son wouldn’t speak to him for two weeks after seeing Who Framed Roger Rabbit for the first time. The kid was ticked off that Hoskins worked with Bugs Bunny, and the son didn’t even get to meet him.
