The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is an incredibly important work within the history of Bill Murray working with writer/director Wes Anderson. The actor has worked on every single one of the filmmaker's movies going back to his second, Rushmore, but Life Aquatic is the only one that features Murray as the principal lead. The two men surely share a lot of stories about the making of the film, but it might not surprise you to learn that Murray also kept a little memento. Specifically, he still has the Steve Zissou skintight swimsuit. He recently told us,
I'm not really a fan of the speedo swimming suit, but there is a square version which doesn't look exactly like a speedo which I had to wear in the movie. That was really comfortable, and it wasn't like what we call European, wherever the hell we call it in America. It wasn't a Speedo, but it was the same material, and it was designed by the costumer. So it was beautiful! So I still have it.
It's not uncommon to hear about actors taking home costumes from sets (Ryan Reynolds took a full Deadpool costume, for example), but this is definitely one of the weirder examples of that practice. Paired with co-star Bob Balaban, Bill Murray participated in a roundtable interview in Berlin, Germany last month following the premiere of Isle of Dogs, and it was during this conversation that Murray revealed the story of his pilfered swimsuit. One reporter specifically asked the two actors if there were any costumes that they were tempted to take home... but the speedo tale was unexpected in the moment.
In retrospect, however, this is a wonderfully perfect example of a Bill Murray story. The man has a long reputation for being a laid back guy who takes pleasure in life where he can, and this story perfectly fits within that idea. He wore a comfortable swimsuit on the set of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou; enjoyed the feel of it; and ultimately decided that he wanted to take it home. It's unclear if he took it with permission or not, but does it really matter?
Funny enough, the not-a-Speedo isn't the only piece of costuming that Bill Murray took from that particular set. Another reporter followed up the story by asking if he still had any of the red caps that Steve Zissou wears in The Life Aquatic, and apparently he has several. Said Murray,
Those are all over the place. I've got mine somewhere. I've got one or two of those somewhere in the museum.
Thanks to this story, you can now personally imagine Bill Murray lounging around his house wearing his Life Aquatic swimsuit... but if you're more interested in seeing a new Murray/Wes Anderson collaboration, you're in luck! Isle of Dogs arrives in theaters this Friday, and we highly recommend sticking around here on CinemaBlend for more from our interviews with the cast.
