Bill Murray is famous for his deadpan humour - and his Monday appearance on Three's The Project was no exception.
The legendary comedian has paired up with Jan Vogler, a virtuoso German cellist, to create an innovative new show that's coming to New Zealand this week.
New Worlds features Murray reading stories by classic US authors paired with classical music played by Vogler. The unlikely partners met while going through airport security.
- Bill Bailey on paddleboarding, comedy and the number seven
- Tom Hanks opens up about emotional final recording for Toy Story 4
- Fan who struck Morrissey after storming stage defends himself
"He was wondering how I would fit my cello into the airplane," Vogler explains. "I think he was very caring. I knew he was an actor and I had seen him before."
"I thought he was a refugee fleeing East Berlin," Murray says.
One of the authors featured in New Worlds is Mark Twain, who Murray says is "probably America's greatest writer".
"He did things no one else has done before or since. He was prolific, and he was grumpy."
Vogler hopes the show will help people to enjoy musicians like Bach in a new way.
"This is what classical music needs right now, what we're doing," he said.
"Bill is a serious musician, he sings very well - he's done lots of very musical things like The Jungle Book. I saw that a few years back with my children and thought, 'Wow he can sing well and recite poetry'. Together with the music we could create this show."
Since taking the show on the road, the duo have travelled the world together, which Vogler says has been "a lot of fun".
"We experience things - we don't just sit in the hotel. We go out and do things, we see the countries we go to, we meet people. It's been a joy, the show and also the travelling."
Host Kanoa Lloyd was particularly starstruck to be interviewing Murray, as her husband proposed to her in the same Japanese hotel that features in Lost in Translation, one of the actor's best-known films.
Unfortunately, Murray had some trouble understanding her name, instead referring to her as 'Candy' and to fellow host Jesse Mulligan as 'Juicy'.
"This Candy is gonna get it from me," he said when he was unhappy with a question she asked.
Murray got the biggest laugh of the show when he was asked by host Jeremy Corbett if he intended to sneak up on any unsuspecting Kiwis on his visit (a prank Murray has played around the world).
"I snuck up on a kiwi today and plucked it," was Murray's deadpan reply. "I marinated it for a little while, a minute and a half on each side on the grill, and it was fantastic."
To gasps from the audience, he said kiwi meat is "not quite as gamey" as bald eagle.
New Worlds will perform at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington on Thursday.
Newshub.
