Actor Bill Murray of Ghostbusters and Saturday Night Live fame asked National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett a rather bizarre question during an appearance on CNBC’s hit show, “Squawk Box” on Monday morning. Murray was on the show to promote his brand new six-part travel and golf docuseries “A Course Called Ireland,” which premiered a week ago.
Later in the show, Murray was invited by show host Joe Kernen to ask Hassett a question. Murray then asked, “I would regret it if I didn’t take this opportunity. Could you just say the words, ‘My dog just died?’ I want to see what happens to your smile.” While still wearing his trademark grin, Hassett asked the Groundhog Day actor, “Oh, well, is it your dog or my dog?”
“Your dog,” Murray replied. “Okay. My dog just died,” Hassett said, giving a much more neutral facial expression. “We were gonna have someone go take your blood. We’re gonna call them off. Not gonna happen,” Murray then said. After the extremely odd exchange, Kernen asked Hassett if he had a favorite Bill Murray film.
According to a report from Fox News, the director said that Groundhog Day was a “fantastic” film and is “one of the top five movies ever made.” Murray then responded that other political figures probably agree with Hassett, recounting an exchange he had with former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno concerning her time at the Department of Justice.
“She said, ‘Bill, the first thing I do to everyone at Justice [Department] is I show them that movie and I say this is what your job is going to be. ‘Groundhog Day,'” Murray said. Hassett agreed with that sentiment, comparing the idea of waking up on the same day over and over again to polling ahead of the midterm elections.
“It seems like every election, everybody’s angry at each other. Everybody thinks this side is going to win. That side’s going to win. And when it comes to Election Day, it feels like it could go either way,” Hassett went on to say, concluding the interview. According to Yahoo News, in a different recent interview, Murray explained that being famous does not make him happy.
The Caddyshack actor was being interviewed by a documentary crew for an episode of his new show while standing on a golf course in Ireland. He was asked if being famous made him happy and he laughed and said, “In a word, no.” The interview takes place in the fourth episode of A Course Called Ireland as the comedian reflects on his career.
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Murray said that his approach to being famous continues to evolve over time. Despite years of experience, he says that he still does not have a settled answer for how to handle it all. However, one thing that he values is when people tell him his films help them get through difficult periods in life. Murray stated that hearing those stories feels wonderful.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video