Movieline Burrows to the Heart of Bill 'Badger' Murray

Of the many delights of my recent (Fox-underwritten) trip to England for the premiere of Fantastic Mr. Fox, coming into close proximity of comedy demigod Bill Murray -- who voices the character of Badger -- certainly ranked among the greatest. His presence at a roundtable interview was kept something of a will-he-or-won't-he mystery until the very last moment, when, sure enough, there he was. An awed silence swept through the cramped Nags Head Pub, as though we had just glimpsed a unicorn or manticore -- even better, really, since no unicorns or manticores ever starred in Ghostbusters.

Jason Schwartzman kicked things off by having us all laugh heartily at nothing in particular, earning the deep admiration of Murray, who sauntered up to the table with beer in hand, saying, "I know a good fake when I hear it." What followed was a relaxed, frequently hilarious chat about Wes Anderson's film -- a project you could tell had clearly re-energized the reclusive actor. Murray genius was on crystalline display even in these most forced of circumstances. Watch in the video embedded on the next page, as Murray responds to a reporter's question about what makes him "badger-like" by pinching her cheek and mock-threatening, "What did you say?" After the interview, she'd tell me he squeezed so hard her face was still stinging. I consoled her by saying she had a good story for the grandkids.

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