For Geena Davis, working with Bill Murray was no laughing matter.
In her new book Dying of Politeness: A Memoir, the Oscar-winning actress detailed her experience filming 1990’s Quick Change with the comedian. Though the crime comedy had a “stellar cast,” Davis wrote in her memoir that she had several uneasy exchanges with Murray throughout production—including how he allegedly “insisted” on using a massage device on her when they met up to discuss her role.
Recalling how the casting meeting took place at a hotel suite, Davis wrote, “Pretty quickly, it was clear that this was a non-negotiable thing. I said no multiple times, but he wouldn’t relent. I would have had to yell at him and cause a scene if I was to get him to give up trying to force me to do it; the other men in the room did nothing to make it stop.”
Davis wrote she eventually gave in and “Murray placed the thing on my back for a total of about two seconds,” noting that she later learned the massager was “a test—to find out if I was going to be easy to work with; be compliant.”
