Bill Murray talks President Roosevelt role in “Hyde Park on Hudson”

PanARMENIAN.Net - Bill Murray has joked that playing ex-US President Franklin D Roosevelt was far more intimidating than many of his previous roles, Digital Spy said.

The actor explained to Flicks and Bits that playing such a legendary historical figure came with tremendous responsibility.

"It's not like Dr Peter Venkman of the Ghostbusters, his history was pretty much a thumbnail sketch. But the history of these people, the Roosevelts, it's deep and well documented," Murray said.

The star further commented: "There's a lot to swallow and a lot to digest. You have a lot of responsibility so you feel like you've got to get as much of a picture of them as you can. Roosevelt is the most formidable character I've ever been asked to play, and this story that I hadn't known about showed his personal side.

"There was a humanity to Richard Nelson's script. After I read the script, I called up [director] Roger Michell and we had more conversations on the phone. He then said, 'I'll come visit you in America', and we went to the beach and kept talking about what we could do with this story."

Murray also described the process of accurately portraying Roosevelt's distinctive vocal style.

"The physical things were important. I also listened to his voice a lot, to his speech," the star noted. "In terms of upbringing, this was a man who grew up in New York City, in Hyde Park, and on Campobello - off both the US and Canada. He'd travel to England; he went to school in Groton, Connecticut."

He added: "So there were a lot of different vocal influences in his tones, yet his voice was very distinct. You've got to be able to have a twinkle in your eye to get people to do what you want.

"He knew you had to be willing to give and take. He made people believe in him."

Hyde Park on Hudson - which also stars Laura Linney and Olivia Williams - opens on Friday in the US and on February 1, 2013 in the UK.