It’s one of Murray’s best loved films, but the deadpan comedian wasn’t the first choice for Phil.
The late Harold Ramis, who wrote and directed Groundhog Day, revealed at a 2009 Q&A that Tom Hanks was his original plan for the role.
However the Oscar-winning star turned down the part and Ramis revealed why.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hanks said: “Audiences would have been sitting there waiting for me to become nice, because I always play nice.
He added: “But Bill’s such a miserable S.O.B. on and off screen, you didn’t know what was going to happen.”
Although Murray was cast, he hated Groundhog Day and ended up not speaking to Ramis for over two decades.
According to Joe.ie, Murray wanted the movie to be philosophical drama, but Ramis was adamant on a comedy.
Not only this, but the actor’s marriage was going through a tough time and Ramis claims he was “Irrationally mean and unavailable on set”, in an interview with The New Yorker.
YOU WON’T BELIEVE HOW LONG BILL MURRAY WAS TRAPPED IN THE GROUNDHOG DAY TIME LOOP
Although they didn’t speak for 21 years due to their falling out, Murray went to visit Ramis shortly before his death in 2014.
After he died of complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, Murray paid an emotional tribute to his old filmmaking partner at the Oscars.
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