Although Bill Murray is known to many as a comedic actor, he garners a lot of attention whenever he does a more serious role - like his Oscar nomination for "Lost in Translation."
Now Murray returns with another Oscar-contending role - that of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in the film "Hyde Park on Hudson." Murray and his co-star Laura Linney hit the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday (September 10) for the movie's premiere.
For Murray, playing such an iconic character of American history was not without its challenges - he had to do his homework.
SOUNDBITE Bill Murray saying (English):
"Everyone knows him slightly. Everyone knows him a little but, like I knew him slightly. So if you do just a little bit of information, you're already slightly ahead, but there are a number of people that know a lot about him, so I just kept reading until I couldn't read anymore, until I felt like, ok I'm stuffed. It's like dinner: you can eat so much, you can stop, take a break, eat a little more, you can have dessert later, something like that, you can have left-overs the next day, but there's a certain moment where you're like, ok I've got enough. I think I know enough about him."
The film follows FDR's relationship with his fifth cousin, played by Linney, during a 1939 visit by the King and Queen of England to his home, Hyde Park.
At the festival, there was a great deal of Oscar buzz surrounding the film.
"Hyde Park on Hudson" hits theaters in December.
