Bill Murray Has No Agent. Just a 1-800 Number.

For most actors, landing a role means impressing an agent, who calls a manager, who calls a studio. For Bill Murray, the process is simpler - and far more maddening. You dial a 1-800 number, listen to a computerized voicemail greeting, and wait. Maybe he calls back. Maybe he doesn't.

Why He Did It

Around 2000, Murray walked away from traditional Hollywood representation entirely. No agent. No manager. No publicist. He created a private toll-free number as a filter - a way to screen professional inquiries without the relentless phone traffic that came with a Hollywood team. As he put it: "Their job is, 'Get me Bill Murray on the phone.' They have nothing else to do." He unplugged his home phone and handed the world a 1-800 number instead.

How It Actually Works

The number goes to a computerized voicemail - not Murray's voice. You leave a message. Then you wait. Murray checks the inbox on his own schedule. "It's not like at 11 o'clock it's time to check the messages," he has explained. "Sometimes I go days or weeks. Sorry I'm busy living." The number itself is private - passed around by word of mouth through the industry rather than listed anywhere.

Sofia Coppola's Five-Month Wait

When director Sofia Coppola wrote the script for Lost in Translation, she knew she wanted Murray for the lead. She spent five months leaving messages on his voicemail. Nothing. Eventually she enlisted screenwriter Mitch Glazer - an old friend of Murray's - to pass along her treatment. She also asked director Wes Anderson, who had worked with Murray on Rushmore, to intervene personally. Anderson joined a dinner in New York where Murray finally agreed. Even then, Coppola spent $1 million of the film's budget before Murray confirmed he was on his way to Tokyo to shoot. The film earned him a Golden Globe.

The Roles That Got Away

The system has had a cost. Murray missed out on Monsters Inc. - Pixar left voicemails that went unchecked until it was too late. Director Ted Melfi eventually reached Murray through his attorney after months of unanswered messages just to cast him in St. Vincent (2014). Murray has reportedly also passed on Iron Man and Bad Santa - though in many cases it is impossible to know whether those were deliberate choices or simply voicemails that never got heard.

His Philosophy

Murray has never seemed particularly bothered by what he's missed. "The people that know me, they get to me," he has said. "The people that don't know me just have a little more difficulty." He's made films with Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, and Sofia Coppola - all directors who found their way through. For everyone else, the 1-800 number is still there. Leave a message after the beep.