Inside Bill Murray's Hellish Experience Shooting 'Lost in Translation' — And How Sexual Harassment And Covid Have Finally 'Humbled' Him
Bill Murray seems to be a changed man after being accused of shock behavior.
May 19 2025, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Bill Murray wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind while shooting Lost in Translation, according to his co-star Scarlett Johansson, noting all eyes were on him while filming, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The actor's career took a major hit in 2022 after a female staff member on the film Being Mortal accused Murray of behaving inappropriately with her.
Murray's Dark Place
Murray's behavior on 'Lost in Translation' impacted his co-stars.
In a new interview, Johansson recalled how her time working alongside Murray went, and how he was dealing with plenty of issues in 2002.
“Bill was in a hard place. Everybody was on tenterhooks around him, including our director and the full crew, because he was dealing with his... stuff," the Jurassic World Rebirth actress said.
According to Johansson, she had never been confronted with a fellow movie star in that kind of "headspace," as all of the attention was on him.
A Changed Man?
Scarlett Johansson revealed co-star Murray was 'in a hard place' while filming.
Despite her co-star's behavior, Johansson has no regrets over working on the film, which reeled in four Oscar nominations.
"I’m pretty proud of how I handled myself. I really just did the work, you know? It’s a good tactic for pushing through stuff," she said.
Murray, 74, and Johansson, 40, were able to cross paths again earlier this year at Saturday Night Live's 50th-anniversary special, as the Marvel actress noticed the big change in him.
“I think life has humbled him," Johansson said, before being asked if she was referring to the misconduct allegations against him.
“Certainly, yes – that was really bad,” Johansson explained. “But I also know COVID was a hard thing for him. Life – all these things have led up to him being held accountable for that kind of behavior... But you know what? How wonderful that people can change.”
The accusations against Murray – which involved him kissing a woman through a mask – led to the Aziz Ansari-directed film Being Mortal to be shut down completely. In April, the Ghostbusters star touched on all that went down.
He said in an interview: "I don’t go too many days or weeks without thinking of what happened in Being Mortal."
'I Tried To Make Peace'
Johansson and Murray in a scene from 'Lost in Translation.'
Murray claimed he knew the woman involved in the incident and that they were wearing COVID-19 protocol masks. He and the woman – who was never identified – reached a settlement.
Murray said of the incident: "I tried to make peace. I thought I was trying to make peace. I ended up being, to my mind, barbecued.
“But someone that I worked with, that I had had lunch with on various days of the week – it was Covid, we were all wearing masks, and we were all stranded in this one room listening to this crazy scene.
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"I dunno what prompted me to do it. It’s something that I had done to someone else before, and I thought it was funny, and every time it happened, it was funny."
The Oscar-nominated actor continued: "I was wearing a mask, and I gave her a kiss, and she was wearing a mask. It wasn’t like I touched her, but it was just, I gave her a kiss through a mask. And she wasn’t a stranger."
Murray explained the film was halted "by the human rights or 'H & R' of the Disney corporation, which is probably a little bit more strident than some other countries."
The 74-year-old reached a settlement with a woman who accused him of on-set sexual harassment.
Despite the explanation, Murray admitted the whole incident was "stupid."
"It was a great disappointment, because I thought I knew someone, and I did not," he said.
