Bill Murray, Garfield and the name mix-up

Bill Murray has said he agreed to voice Garfield in 2004 because he thought one of the writers was Joel Coen of the Coen brothers. It was actually Joel Cohen. The writer disputes the story.

Garfield goes live action

Garfield: The Movie came out in 2004. It mixed live action with a computer-animated version of Jim Davis's lazy, lasagna-loving orange cat. Breckin Meyer played Jon, Garfield's owner, and Bill Murray voiced Garfield.

Murray was an odd fit on paper. He was known for comedies like Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, and by the early 2000s for acclaimed work with directors such as Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola. A family movie about a cartoon cat was not the obvious next step.

The name on the script

The screenplay was written by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow. Murray later told a story about why he took the job. In an online question-and-answer session, he said he had been interested because he mistook the name Joel Cohen for Joel Coen, one half of the Coen brothers, the filmmakers behind Fargo and The Big Lebowski. The Coens were known for sharp, offbeat writing. Garfield was not a Coen brothers film.

Murray told the story with his usual deadpan humor, including joking about how much work he then put into a script he was not happy with. It was widely shared and is now one of the most repeated pieces of movie trivia.

The other side

Alec Sokolow, who co-wrote the film, publicly disputed the story in 2014. He said Murray knew it was not Joel Coen well before he met Joel Cohen, and called the tale untrue. So there are two versions: Murray's funny anecdote, and a co-writer who says it did not happen that way.

There is also a detail that supports a simpler explanation: Garfield creator Jim Davis said Murray recorded his lines in his New York apartment and on location while filming another movie, which suggests he fit the job around other work.

Claim	Source
Murray took the role thinking the writer was Joel Coen	Murray, in an online Q&A
Murray knew the difference early on	Co-writer Alec Sokolow, 2014
Murray recorded at home and on another film's set	Garfield creator Jim Davis

Murray's own epilogue

Murray returned for the 2006 sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. In the 2009 comedy Zombieland, he played himself in a cameo, and when asked if he had any regrets, the answer was a joke about Garfield. Whether the Coen mix-up story is true or not, Murray has clearly enjoyed laughing about the movie.

What it teaches

Funny stories are not always facts. Celebrities tell anecdotes to entertain. Treat them as stories, not records.
Look for the other side. A quick search for anyone who was in the room can change the picture.
Read the credits carefully. Joel Coen and Joel Cohen are different people. One letter matters.
Self-mockery is a strong brand. Murray turned a film he was lukewarm about into decades of jokes that keep people talking about it.

For a real cat whose fame ended up in court, see the story of the Grumpy Cat lawsuit.