• Newsfeed
  • celebrity

This Is Why Bill Murray Agreed to Appear in the Next Ghostbusters Film

2 minute read

Ghostbusters fans around the world rejoiced earlier this month, when it was revealed Bill Murray will make a cameo in Paul Feig’s upcoming reboot.

Murray, who had long been resistant to the prospect of starring in a third Ghostbusters project, explained how the role came about — and what made him agree to it — over the weekend at a screening of his new film, Rock the Kasbah, in East Hampton, N.Y.

“You know, they were incredibly nice to ask me, and I really enjoyed being there,” Murray told Vulture. “They have such a jolly group, and they are going to have great success with this project. I didn’t want to overshadow [them] or anything, and I feel really good about it.”

Murray said the addition of actresses like Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy to the film’s cast made him come around to the idea of aGhostbusters return. “I like those girls a lot,” he added. “I mean, I really do. They are tough to say no to. And Paul is a real nice fellow.”

Still, he gave the prospect a lot of thought — by his count, years worth.

“I thought about it for a very long time,” Murray said. “Like, many, many months. No, that’s not right. I was seriously thinking about this for years, really … It kept eating at me, and I really respect those girls. And then I started to feel like if I didn’t do this movie, maybe somebody would write a bad review or something, thinking there was some sort of disapproval [on my part].”

Feig’s Ghostbusters, with Wiig, McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Michael K. Williams, and Neil Casey, opens in theaters on July 15. You can read the rest of Murray’s interview over at Vulture.

This article originally appeared on EW.com

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com