“Square in the Head”: The Charlie’s Angels Director Says Bill Murray Headbutted Him

Bill Murray returned as Peter Venkman in a Ghostbusters-themed ad for Rivian recently. As arguably Murray’s most famous role, it is one with which he has had a contentious relationship in the past. Speaking of contentious, that’s a mild way of describing what allegedly happened on the set of 2000’s Charlie’s Angels (68% critics, 45% audience on Rotten Tomatoes).

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In the movie, Murray plays John Bosley, who acts as something of a middleman between Charlie Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe) and the Angels (played by Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu). It has been well documented in the past that Murray and Liu had their issues during the production, but there was also another alleged dispute between Murray and director McG.

McG has had his own share of problems on his film sets, including an infamous recorded outburst from Christian Bale during the filming of 2009’s Terminator Salvation. “I don’t think there’s been a film I’ve made where there hasn’t been some kind of physical fight,” McG told The Guardian. “I mean, I’ve been headbutted by an A-list star. Square in the head. An inch later and my nose would have been obliterated.”

When pressed for an answer on who headbutted him, McG said, “[I]t was Bill Murray. Y’know, it’s a passionate industry.”

Of course, this isn’t an allegation of a minor dispute or argument, so Murray was bound to be asked about McG’s claims at some point. During an interview with The Times in 2009, Murray fired back at McG furiously.

“That’s bulls***! That’s complete crap!” Murray said. “I don’t know why he made that story up. He has a very active imagination.”

Yet Murray didn’t stop there. He added, “No! He deserves to die. He should be pierced with a lance, not headbutted.”

Yikes! Those are strong words, aren’t they?

Look, everybody knew there must have been some animosity, especially since Murray didn’t return for the sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, with Bosley appearing only through archival footage. Even so, it sounds like the issues between Murray and McG, as well as Murray and Liu, were serious enough to prevent them from working together.

McG’s accusations aren’t the first time that Murray has been alleged to have used violence to resolve issues. Famously, Chevy Chase and Murray scrapped before an episode of Saturday Night Live, where Chase was alleged to have told Murray that he had a face “like something Neil Armstrong landed on.” According to Murray, though, he and Chase are all good now.

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Charlie’s Angels (2000) is available to stream on Fandango at Home in the US, according to Rotten Tomatoes.