Legend Bill Murray and acclaimed actor Liev Schreiber discussed their time working on ‘Isle of Dogs,’ unpacking the deeply empathetic personalities of dogs, and recording their voice-overs in a mere few hours
Wes Anderson is known for many things—precisely framed shots that are almost-sociopathically symmetrical, short and dearth dialogue, as well as a unique brand of eccentricity that few, if any, could ever pull off. But Anderson is also known for incorporating the same troupe of actors, writers, photographers, and others in most of his films. To Anderson, it is a no-brainer of a decision, one that makes the filmmaking process that much smoother and more seamless in execution.
But it seems that his fondest collaboration comes in the form of the legendary cultural figure and funnyman, Bill Murray. Murray has worked on every single one of Anderson’s films, save for his directorial debut, Bottle Rocket. Having worked on eight out Anderson’s nine films, Murray seems to intrinsically understand Anderson’s directorial style, aesthetic, and quirky lines of dialogue. It appears that an Anderson film just cannot be made unless Murray is cast in some capacity. But that’s not to say that Anderson is strict about who he lets into his club.
Newcomer Liev Schreiber is working with Anderson for the first time, playing the loveable guard dog and catalytic character, Spots. Along with Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig and child actor Koyu Rankin, Liev Schreiber is one of the newest additions to the group of actors that answer the esteemed call of duty to work on Anderson’s film. As Anderson noted, “Most of the time when I’m working with an actor for the first time, I’m already their fan.” It seems that Anderson finally demonstrated his fandom for the first-timers, casting them in vital roles that push the film’s narrative along it’s charming, idiosyncratic way. Schreiber and Murray took the time out of their day to discuss the frenetic recording sessions and realizing the deep-seated empathy that dogs invoke in us. Check out what they had to say below.
Blazing Fast Voice Over Recording Sessions
Most actors rehearse over and over when they are cast in a new film. It’s a technique that thespian-like actors take from their formative theater years, realizing that any good performance is steeped in playing it over and over and over again. To theater-born actors like Liev Schreiber, practice is key. Which is something that didn’t seem to happen during Isle of Dogs, whose recording sessions took about the length of the film itself.
“I feel so guilty for being up here, even being a part of this” admitted the humorously self-deprecating Schreiber. The actor went on to reflect that he felt, “like I didn’t do anything. I feel like I was in a recording session with Wes for about two hours about a year and a half ago and it was fun. It was! We did a couple things twice, maybe three times. I was actually terrified when I left. I thought, oh I messed that up.” Schreiber thought he underperformed so badly that he warned his kids about his screen time. I said, ‘Look, by the way, I’m probably in this for like 20 seconds at best, so don’t get your hopes up or anything.'”
In fact, Schreiber wasn’t even sure what part he was originally going to be cast in, noting that “I knew immediately when Wes cast me that I wouldn’t get to do a dog voice.” Schreiber continued saying, “I knew that because what [Anderson] does so beautifully is juxtapose the very human characteristics of the actors that he’s working with, with the creatures they’re playing and that’s what makes it so interesting.” Thankfully, Schreiber’s came true, and his jokingly self-imposed title of a “world class dog voice guy,” did indeed come true.
Murray Wanted to Bring “Clarity” to Boss
Bill Murray is an emblematic character in and of himself. He could very well just sit in front of a camera for two hours and it would be called an arthouse masterpiece on the same level of Andy Warhol’s Andy Warhol Eats a Burger. Murray has cemented himself into the lexicon of popular culture, frequently finding his shenanigans becoming a meme. From his infamous bartending stint with the Wu Tang Clan to his more recent nap that he took in the middle of a panel discussion of Isle of Dogs, it seems that anything that Murray does or touches turns into a culturally relevant dialogue of its own.
It seemed that Murray was ready to continue his hijinks during this press conference, wherein he sarcastically answered that what he wanted to bring to his character Boss was “clarity.” And while that may have been a hoity-toity answer that more annoyingly serious actors might have jumped to, Murray was in fact wryly poking fun at the whole experience he was partaking in. In fact, when a follow-up question was asked regarding Boss’ characterization as an oblivious non-mascot, Murray again sardonically responded in the age-old industry wrench, “could you rephrase?” He further deflected answers by pushing them off on his fellow cast members, saying in a NPR-like voice, “why don’t you take that Jeff?” It seemed that Murray was having his own brand of fun at the conference, one that soon became infectious as seating neighbor Courtney B. Vance also remarked in the same hushed tone, “I’m gonna give that to Wes.” It appears that no one can escape the hilarity of Murray’s brain.
To Be a Dog Owner is to Know Empathy and Kindness
Dog’s have always been referred to as man’s best friend. From their early days of keeping guard and protecting early hominids from night-prowling predators to their newfound obedient place in our hearts, dogs have been intrinsically part of man’s existence for thousands of years. We evolved side-by-side, each benefiting from the other species’ skills and savvy. For us humans, we knew we could sleep at night calmly while they stood guard. For dogs, they knew that we would throw them scraps of food out of kindness and friendship. To Bill Murray, that relationship is wholly sacred.
“I think your relationship with dogs isn’t often a thinking thing,” said the actor. “It’s an emotional thing and so you have to sort of get yourself together to correctly perceive those emotions, to feel them, those feelings if you can get completely connected,” continued Murray. The actor went on to share some of his own personal dealings with having dogs, reflecting that he had “had some very emotional moments, feeling moments with my own dogs. My current dog was attacked and left for dead by coyotes. He survived and he’s the one I chose from his mother’s litter. I thought he was the smartest one and he was. But he’s also the best companion, a very good companion, easy to be with.”
Murray elucidated on his dog’s personality, noting that “all my friends say, ‘Your dog is so chill.’ He’s way beyond chill. Chill is like entry level of what Tim is. I think we all had to think about, ‘how do I want to say what I feel about dogs?’ That’s what all the actors, actresses had to do was think, ‘How do I feel about dogs?'” It appears that Murray didn’t really have to, explaining, “there wasn’t thinking, they had to try to get to an emotional sort of catapult. That’s what we were able to do together.” Indeed, he believes that dogs truly are a part of the family, noting that his dog has his last name. When asked what his dog’s name was, the actor solemnly answered “Timmy. Tim Murray.” It appears that this was the film whose dog characters Murray always wanted to voice.
Isle of Dogs hit theaters Friday, March 23 before it goes to wide release on April 6.
