1994–2009: Comedy stardom and mature roles
After the success of Groundhog Day, Murray appeared in a series of well-received supporting roles in films like Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994) and Peter Farrelly's Kingpin (1996). Also in 1996, he appeared as himself in the Looney Tunes live action comedy Space Jam with Michael Jordan. However, his starring roles in Larger than Life (1996) and The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) were not as successful with critics or audiences. He received much critical praise for his role in Wes Anderson's coming of age comedy Rushmore (1998), opposite Jason Schwartzman and Olivia Williams. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Murray turns in a thrillingly knowing, unforced performance — an award-worthy high point in a career that continues". Murray received the Best Supporting Actor awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (tying with Billy Bob Thornton for A Simple Plan).
Murray then took on more dramatic roles in Wild Things (1998) and Cradle Will Rock (1999). Murray decided to take a turn towards more dramatic roles and experienced a resurgence in his career. In 2000, he portrayed Polonius in Michael Almereyda's Hamlet, based on the play by William Shakespeare. The film starred Ethan Hawke in the title role, as well as Kyle MacLachlan, Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber and Sam Shepard. The film received mixed reviews. On May 22, 2000, he portrayed Luther Billis in a concert version of the stage musical South Pacific at Lincoln Center for a fundraiser. The following year, Murray reunited with Wes Anderson in the family comedy-drama The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) which starred Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anjelica Huston. In the film, Murray plays Raleigh St. Clair, the meek and mild-mannered neurologist, writer, and husband of Margot Tenenbaum (Paltrow).
In 2003, he starred in his first collaboration with director Sofia Coppola in Lost in Translation opposite Scarlett Johansson. Murray plays an aging movie star on assignment in Tokyo to shoot a Suntory whiskey commercial. Feeling isolated and alone he meets an American woman, Charlotte (Johansson) with whom he sparks an unlikely friendship. Coppola explores the themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan. The independent drama was an immense critical success and commercial success. Roger Ebert hailed Murray's performance: "Bill Murray has never been better. He doesn't play 'Bill Murray' or any other conventional idea of a movie star, but invents Bob Harris from the inside out, as a man both happy and sad with his life – stuck, but resigned to being stuck."
Murray earned numerous accolades, including the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead, as well as Best Actor awards from several film critic organizations. He was considered a favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but Sean Penn ultimately won the award for his performance in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. In an interview included on the Lost in Translation DVD, Murray states that it is his favorite film in which he has appeared. He played himself "hiding out" in a local coffee shop in Jim Jarmusch's anthology film Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). He voiced Garfield in Garfield: The Movie (2004), which role he reprised in Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006). Murray later said that he only took the role because he was under the mistaken impression that the screenplay, co-written by Joel Cohen, was the work of Joel Coen.
He made his third collaboration with Anderson in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), co-written by Anderson with Noah Baumbach. Murray plays Zissou, an oceanographer-filmmaker based on Jacques Cousteau who is struggling to finish his latest documentary and has to reconcile with his son (Owen Wilson). The film also stars Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Anjelica Huston, Jeff Goldblum and Michael Gambon. The film initially received mixed reviews, although Murray's performance was praised, and was a box office bomb. In the decades since, it has developed a cult following. The following year, Murray reunited with Jim Jarmusch in Broken Flowers (2005). The film revolves around Don Johnston (Murray), who embarks on a journey to four women (Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange and Tilda Swinton), to find out who sent him a mysterious letter. Roger Ebert praised Murray: "No actor is better than Bill Murray at doing nothing at all, and being fascinating while not doing it".
He returned to the big screen for cameos in Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited (2007) and Peter Segal's Get Smart (2008). He played an important role in the post-apocalyptic film City of Ember (2008). Murray starred in the independent film Get Low (2009) alongside Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek. The film is loosely based on a true story about a Tennessee hermit in the 1930s who throws his own funeral party while still alive. Murray and Duvall received critical praise and the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. Also in 2009, Murray played himself in the zombie comedy Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg. Murray voiced Mr. Badger in Anderson's stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009).
