Margaret Qualley on Thursday revealed that she tried to set up her mother Andie Macdowell on a date with her former “Groundhog Day” co-star Bill Murray.
Qualley — who appeared on “The Tonight Show” on the same day Murray performed with Pedrito Martínez Group — used a game of “Truth or Dare” with Jimmy Fallon to spill on her backstage encounter with the “SNL” icon, who was wearing a Piggly Wiggly supermarket shirt.
“I grew up in North Carolina and Piggly Wiggly’s a southern thing … I find out he’s living in Charleston, [South Carolina], my mom’s living in Charleston,” said the “Honey Don’t!” star.
Qualley then began to laugh as she recalled Murray telling her that he and her mom “didn’t get along so good” during the making of the movie, which hit theaters well over a year before she was born in 1994.
“He was like, ‘You know, she took a long time to get her hair done and she didn’t know her lines this one time,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, well, I heard a different story sir,’” Qualley remarked.
She added that she began to put “two and two together” as Macdowell and Murray now live in the same city and, despite showing a sort of “rage” toward each other, she thought Murray may be trying to make amends.
“And I’m like, ‘She’s single, he’s single, they’re both crazy, let’s get it together!’” declared Qualley to Fallon’s delight.
She noted that she told Murray he could “circle back” with her if he’d like to get in touch with her mom.
“If he’s got any sense at all, he’d be the luckiest guy in the world!” said Qualley, adding that she hopes Murray was “listening” to the interview.
“Groundhog Day” notably had its share of challenges as Murray and director Harold Ramis, a longtime collaborator, clashed on set and had a falling out.
The two eventually reconciled shortly before Ramis’ death in 2014.
Back in 2023, producer Trevor Albert told The Hollywood Reporter that it was a “tense” shoot and therefore “less fun to make” due to the rift.
“But you can still make a very good movie when people are not in perfect harmony,” he added.
Macdowell, nonetheless, has talked highly of her time on set with Murray, once describing him as a “jerk” who can still make you laugh and recalling her commitment to playing an “honest” character in news producer Rita Hanson opposite of Murray’s sarcastic yet likable character in Phil Connors.
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In January, Macdowell told Fallon about a time when Murray drove off with her in the car and left the set entirely.
“I said, ‘What are we doing, Bill?’ He goes, ‘We’re going to go for a drive.’ I was like, ‘OK!’ I was so anxious!” said Macdowell, who described Murray as “fun” but “crazy” earlier in the interview.