Why Bill Murray Misses the Autograph ‘Era’ and More Surprising Revelations From His New Golf Documentary

‘A Course Called Ireland’ is now streaming on Paramount+

Bill Murray is starring in a new golfing docuseries, but don’t be confused: This isn’t really about golf. 

A Course Called Ireland, now streaming on Paramount+, follows Murray, 76, and his good friend, author Tom Coyne, as they travel across Ireland playing golf — joined by Chris O’Dowd, Jason Kelce and two of Murray’s brothers — connecting with their Irish heritage and learning more about themselves along the way.

While Murray is beloved for his work on Saturday Night Live and in films like Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, the six-part docuseries introduces viewers to another side of the comedian, exploring the positive and negative effects that more than 50 years of fame have had on his life.

From singing traditional songs at a classic Irish “rambling house” and getting a fortune-teller reading to setting up strangers on a boat tour of the Cliffs of Moher, Murray keeps the journey entertaining and unpredictable. Here are five of the biggest revelations about the actor from A Course Called Ireland.

Murray developed his comedy and ‘SNL’ characters as a kid

One of nine siblings, Murray had to work hard to get laughs and attention growing up. “Bill learned his comic craft at home,” the narrator says in the second episode, explaining that he competed with his siblings to see who could make the family laugh the hardest.

His youngest sibling, Joel, who joins Murray later in the trip, recalls that his brother was always a little “goofy.” “You learn a lot about social skills when you got to deal with a whole community in your own home,” he says. “A lot of characters that ended up on SNL and stuff, he created in the kitchen and at the dining-room table. He’s become a deity.” 

Holding up his ball marker while being filmed golfing in Ireland, Joel adds, “I mean, they make gold coins as ball markers with Bill Murray on ’em.”

Murray misses the autograph “era” and struggles with photo requests.

During a bathroom break on his journey through Ireland, Murray is approached by a swarm of people asking to take photos with him — a familiar occurrence for the comedian, both on this trip and throughout his life.

When O’Dowd, 47, asks how he handles the constant photo requests, Murray admits he sometimes longs for a simpler time. “I come from the era where, like, I thought autographs were the worst thing that ever happened, and I’d give anything to have it back,” he says. 

He continues, “But, you know, I’ve done all kinds of things and tried to control it and do it according to my terms, and I find that it’s an enormous waste of energy to ever try to direct it. Now, I just jump in and go.… I take the camera. I take the picture.”

Later in the film, Murray reflects on the effects of five decades of fame and living under constant public scrutiny. He references something he once read about “cell irritability,” explaining, “If you poke a one-celled animal with a stick, it will reform into its regular shape, but the ten thousandth time you do it, the cell wall collapses, and everything inside of it explodes. So that’s sort of how I went, ‘Oh, okay, that’s what I’m like.’ ”

Fame doesn’t make Murray happy.

In the fourth episode, a crew member asks Murray on the golf course whether fame brings him happiness, to which he responds, with a laugh, “In a word, no.” He adds, “It’s not easy. I go through new revelations all the time about how I handle it and how to deal with it. It’s not for everyone, but it has also brought me to this place, you know.”

For Murray, however, there is one significant upside. “The one big positive is there’s a lot of goodwill out there from people who think, ‘Hey, you know what? Your movie made me laugh when I was having a really lousy time,’ ” he says. “I’ve heard that a lot of times and it feels great.… But it’s not for everyone, and it’s not what you expect, either. I think kind of famous people, they can decide that there’s a certain way to play being famous, you know?”

When the cameraman asks how he has chosen to “play” fame, Murray responds, “Well, I’m not very pleasant. You can see that. I think just being nice-nice, I don’t go for nice-nice. If I were like an ordinary citizen acting the way that I do, I’d probably have a lot more cuts and bruises.”

Golf is both a game and a safe space for Murray.

Growing up caddying with his brothers to help his mom pay the bills — his father died when he was 17 — Murray sees golf as much more than a pastime. “What started as necessity over time became tradition,” the narrator says in the fifth episode. “To this day, it’s on the golf course that the brothers find their way back to each other.” Joel agrees, adding, “Golf is the glue that kind of keeps the family together.”

The course also offers Murray something increasingly difficult to find: an escape from the demands of fame. “I mean, I have no idea what it’s really like to be Bill Murray,” Coyne tells the filmmaker, reflecting on how exhausting it must be to live in the comedian’s shoes. 

“But still, at the end of the day, you got to be tired. I mean, there probably aren’t that many places that you can escape that kind of noise. But a big field, where you’re only with three other people at any given time, that’s probably a real gift. Out here, no one really cares who you are.”

Murray is always seeking community — it’s the Irish in him.

Although Murray is known for doing things his own way and refusing to be pushed around, the narrator reveals that, “when he’s in the mood,” he’s “the world’s best gate crasher.” Footage in the fifth episode shows Murray joining random bachelor parties, singing karaoke, busking in the park and even serving drinks behind the bar at a pub.

“It’s all part of his legend,” the narrator says. “But it’s interesting to ask why he’s doing it. Is he a born comedian, hoping to make people laugh, a man with a keen appreciation of his own mythology, or just someone looking to belong somewhere for a while? Whatever the reason, he’s given a lot of people a magical Bill Murray moment.”

Coyne, who narrates the series’ sixth and final episode, admits that Murray remains something of an enigma. “Spending these weeks with Bill didn’t make him any easier to explain.… You’re never quite sure where the sarcasm ends and the truth begins.”

He continues, “He notices everything. He’ll test your patience. He’ll reward it. He’ll derail your plans. He’ll remind you why you made them in the first place. Treat him like just the funny guy from the movies, and you’re missing out. I’ve known Bill a long time, and I thought I knew Ireland pretty well, too. Funny how putting the two together made me see something new in them both.”

A Course Called Ireland is now streaming on Paramount+.

Via: People