Bill Murray Was Bit Twice by a 'Wild' Groundhog onGroundhog DaySet:'Who the Hell Trained This Gopher?'

Mar. 15, 2025

Bill Murray in ‘Groundhog Day’.Photo:Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Bill Murrayhad an aggressive costar on the set ofGroundhog Day.

A groundhog that Murray, now 74, worked with on the 1993 romantic comedy bit him twice, he revealed on the March 6 episode of First We Feast’sHot Ones. When hostSean Evansasked if it was true that Murray had to get a rabies shot as a result of the bites, theRiff Raffstar held up the knuckle of his right hand’s middle finger.

“I’m not flipping you off,” he quipped. “That right there, that nodule there, that’s from the groundhog. That’s real.”

The groundhog, who in the movie played the part of the prophetic Punxsutawney Phil, bit Murray “back-to-back, two days in a row.” The Harold Ramis-directed classic costarredAndie MacDowellas Rita, producer to Murray’s Phil, a jaded weatherman who becomes caught in a time loop, reliving the titular holiday endlessly without anyone else’s knowledge.

Bill Murray on ‘Hot Ones’.First We Feast/YouTube

First We Feast/YouTube

He recalled getting “upset with the animal wrangler… You know, self-righteous actor stuff. ‘Who the hell trained this gopher?’ With real rage. ‘I am not leaving my trailer.’”

With a Murray-esque shrug, he concluded, “So, you know, you get what you paid for.”

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(Left-right:) Bill Murray, Andie Macdowell and Chris Elliott in ‘Groundhog Day’.Louis Goldman/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Also in hisHot Onesinterview — during which Murray barely broke a sweat consuming chicken wings doused in the spiciest sauces — the Oscar nominee confirmed that he really did hit strikes while bowling in the 1996 Farrelly brothers comedyKingpin. “I saved them a lot of film,” he deadpanned. “Every ball that I rolled on film in that movie is a strike.”

When Evans asked Murray for a film of his he was particularly proud of, he opted for writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 dramedyBroken Flowers. “I didn’t think I could do better than that,” he said. “I thought that was sort of a perfect movie.”

Murray stars in three projects this spring:Riff Raff, costarring Pete Davidson and Jennifer Cooldige (in theaters now);The Friend, costarring Naomi Watts (in theaters March 28); and Wes Anderson’sThe Phoenician Scheme, costarring Scarlett Johansson and Tom Hanks.

source: people.com