THEN AND NOW: The cast of 'Groundhog Day'
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- Groundhog Day is Wednesday, February 2.
- The film "Groundhog Day" premiered in 1993, and we looked at where its stars are today.
- Bill Muray has acted in numerous films, from "Lost in Translation" to "The Life Aquatic."
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The film follows weatherman Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, as he reluctantly travels to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the small town's Groundhog Day celebrations. When he wakes the next day, Phil finds himself stuck in a time loop and is forced to live the holiday over and over again.
The film grossed $70.9 million worldwide and was one of the most successful films of the year. So much so, that over the years the term "Groundhog Day" has been adopted into our everyday language as a term synonymous with the monotonous.
Since Groundhog Day is on Wednesday, we decided to see where the cast of the hit movie is nearly 30 years later.
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Ahead of his annual coverage of Groundhog Day, Phil makes no effort to hide his frustration covering the weather forecasting "rat" or traveling to Punxsutawney and interacting with its residents. When he wakes up the next morning and it's still February 2, Phil realizes he's trapped in an endless time loop and is being forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over again.
Thanks to his producer and love interest, Rita, Phil eventually realizes the only way to end the loop is by changing his perspective and doing good deeds for the people of Punxsutawney. Along the way, he hopes he can convince Rita that his love is genuine.
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In the nearly 30 years since Murray starred in "Groundhog Day," the actor has cemented his place as one of the greatest in Hollywood, thanks in no small part to his signature deadpan style.
Murray has starred in a number of Wes Anderson's films, including last year's "The French Dispatch." He's also returned to TV, including the 2020 series "On The Rocks," spearheaded by "Lost in Translation" director Sofia Coppola.
This year — on Groundhog Day, in fact — he'll release a documentary, "New Worlds: The Cradle of Civilization," which shows the final performance of his European tour with musicians Jan Vogler and Friends. He also just revealed he'll be playing a villain in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," which is set for release in 2023.
Murray's performances have earned him numerous awards, including the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2016.
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Rita is the news producer who encourages Phil to think of the time loop as a blessing in disguise, explaining that he can use his newfound immortality to learn new skills or try new activities. Phil then learns French and how to play the piano in order to woo Rita. Along the way, he learns to appreciate his life realizes how to ultimately break the time loop.
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MacDowell also co-starred in the 2011 "Footloose" remake and the 2019 film "Ready or Not."
Last year, she starred in Netflix's "Maid" as the mother of the protagonist, who is played by her real-life daughter, Margaret Qualley. Qualley earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
Since 1986, MacDowell has worked as a spokesperson for the beauty and personal care company L'Oréal Paris.
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Larry travels to Punxsutawney with Phil and Rita in order to shoot the Groundhog Day special for their news station.
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Elliott has made guest appearances on many TV shows, such as "Friends From College" and "Difficult People," and he frequently appeared on "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "How I Met Your Mother." He also wrote and starred in the 1994 film "Cabin Boy."
He appeared on "Schitt's Creek" between 2015 and 2020 as the town's mayor, Roland Schitt. His real-life father, Bob Elliott, appeared as his dad in the show, and his daughter, Abby Elliott, played Alexis in the unaired pilot.
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It becomes a running gag throughout the movie that Phil has to run into Ned, the annoying insurance salesman. In the midst of Phil's adventures in the time loop, he becomes so frustrated with Ned that one day he punches him straight in the face.
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Tobolowsky has appeared in many TV series including "Deadwood," "Glee," and "Silicon Valley."
He also has a podcast, "The Toboloswky Files," which, according to its website, explores "true stories about life, love, and Hollywood."
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During Phil's string of good deeds on the day before he breaks the time loop, he saves Buster from choking on a piece of steak using the Heimlich maneuver.
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Prior to "Groundhog Day," Doyle-Murphy had roles in films including "Caddyshack," "Scrooged," and "Ghostbusters II," and he was a player and a writer on "Saturday Night Live."
After the movie, he transitioned to more roles on TV, guest-starring on shows including "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Adventure Time."
He held down recurring roles as Captain K'nuckles on the cartoon "The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack" and as Don Ehlert on the sitcom "The Middle."
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In one of the loops, Phil walks into a diner and sits next to a woman named Nancy Taylor. He asks her what her name is, what high school she went to, and what 12th-grade English teacher she had.
The next day, he finds her outside and exclaims "Nancy? Nancy Taylor?!" pretending to know her. After some clear confusion on her part, Nancy accepts his invitation to go on a date.
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Geraghty had small roles in TV shows in the late '90s through the 2000s, including "CSI," "Frasier," and "Seinfeld." According to her IMDb page, the last time she acted in a TV show was in 2009 as an art professor on "The Ex List."