Jennifer Coolidge isn’t being shy about how acting alongside Bill Murray for the first time was “scary as hell.”
Coolidge may not be in the latest season of “The White Lotus” following Tanya’s death in Season 2, but ahead of the release of “A Minecraft Movie,” she’s back in a murder-related story with “Riff Raff,” marking the first time she’s worked with veteran actors Ed Harris and Murray.
In the darkly comedic film that follows an awkward, crime-ridden family reunion, Coolidge plays the hilarious Ruth, who unexpectedly reconnects with her former criminal ex-husband Vincent (played by Harris).
Out of the entire cast, Coolidge was most surprised by Murray’s turn as the violent Leftie.
“I’ve never seen Bill go that dark,” Coolidge tells Variety. “Obviously, he has so much to offer that he can pull off playing this extremely dark, messed up person. Weirdly, it was scary but I couldn’t stop laughing, I was even ruining some of the takes. He’s weird and titillating at the same time. It’s unusual.”
While the film’s cast is filled with veterans who have worked in film for decades, it also features actors like Pete Davidson, who continues to build his resume on screen. Coolidge says that Davidson was a “laugh riot” on set and recalls the memorable time he braved the snowy weather.
Courtesy of Lionsgate
“One day, we were in this house at the top of a very snowy hill in New Jersey,” Coolidge says. “It was freezing, in the middle of nowhere, but I look out the window and I see this Rolls-Royce coming up the hill. I’m like, ‘First of all, how can they be going up the hill without sliding backwards?’ They’re such heavy cars. And then I looked and saw Pete behind the wheel. He’s always doing his own thing.”
