By Thomas Chau in New York City

Whether he likes it or not, Bill Murray's sardonic cynical nature has won the admiration of pop culture fans worldwide. Whether it's "Caddyshack," "Groundhog's Day," "Ghostbusters," or "Rushmore," his movies have found a way to incite a certain type of comedy that is both hilarious and idenitfiable.

On the heels of critical acclaim from "Lost in Translation," Murray rejoins writer/director Wes Anderson as the lead character in "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." Murray plays Steve Zissou, the captain of the Belafonte ship who gathers his team together in search for the mysterious creature known as the Jaguar Shark. His mission? To hunt it down and kill it, for it is responsible for the death of his best friend. Along his ocean adventure, Steve encounters another great adventure: the adventure of life, as a man who claims to be his long lost son (Owen Wilson) shows up and begs for his acceptance.

Muray was at a press conference in New York to talk about the film and below is what he had to say.

Q: Did Wes have to hound you for this role?

BILL: Wes told me about this thing years ago when we were making “Rushmore” but I didn’t make anything of it. He didn’t come after me much at all. I have a lot of faith in him so he doesn’t have to explain much to me. If I feel I need something explained then I ask. When we were discussing this movie we were taking a boat trip. I told him I wanted to rehearse and he was like “What?” and I said “Yeah I want you to tell me the story.” So he had a script to him and he read it to me. I just laid back sunbathing while he read it to me. It was like a bedtime story.

Q: Is this the hardest movie shoot you’ve ever been on?

BILL: Yes it was. This was by far the most physically demanding, the most emotionally demanding both personally and professionally. Also the most ambitious.

Q: Would you have done the movie if Wes wasn’t involved?

BILL: I don’t know. If you read the script and you didn’t know who was in charge you would be much less confident. I sure as hell wouldn’t leave the country and go over there for just anybody. You have to have some faith in some people.

Q: Wes is known to be very specific with his films, so was it tough to bite your tongue and not improvise?

BILL: I don’t mind it. I still get to improvise when there is something there. He made a script that’s really hard to speak. With some of these tongue twisters I defy you do them with another actor two or three times in a row. It’s nice to have a script where I don’t have to improvise. I used to have to rewrite whole movies.

Q: Is this the serious point of your career?

BILL: My blue period? I think all phases of one’s career are serious if you take it seriously no matter if you are doing high profile dramatic pieces or not. That’s just a perception. I’ve taken all the work seriously but you can’t take the response and reaction to it too seriously. But you can’t get all bent out of shape if it’s not pleasant. I love the shooting of the movies when the camera is rolling.

Q: Anjelica Huston said you are melancholic…

BILL: A melancholy and lovable is the trick right? You’ve got to be able to show that you have these feelings. In the game of life you get these feelings and how you deal with those feelings. What you do when you are trying to deal with a melancholy. A melancholy can be sweet. It’s not a mean thing but it’s something that happens in life - like autumn.

Q: What do you think of finally getting that Oscar nomination for “Lost in Translation”?

BILL: I think it’s going to be a thing where once every 25 years I will get an Oscar nomination.

Q: Have you kept in touch with Scarlett Johansson?

BILL: It’s funny because you just don’t keep in touch with people that often. My wife would feel funny if I spent too much time with an 18 year old girl.

Q: Why do you think audiences everywhere could identify with “Lost in Translation”?

BILL: That’s a good question. Why did that film get so much attention? The film is so interesting because it shows a personal decision we all have to make sometime. It’s when you bump into someone that’s not your mate, husband or wife and something happens between you. How do you behave in that situation? I read a definition this year that a hero is someone that does something they don’t want to do. The thing is that Bob Harris really wanted someone to make him feel special 13,000 miles away from home. To make him loved and feel like a home. He didn’t do it with that girl and that made him a hero, but a different kind of hero. It’s the kind that everyone can be. Not everyone can be Indiana Jones or a Ghostbuster but everyone can make the decision to do that thing they want to do, which is kiss me and make me feel better now.

Q: Both Bob Harris in “Lost in Translation” and Steve Zissou in this movie are two older men who are looking back at their lives and are constantly asking what’s next. Are you in that stage personally in your career?

BILL: It’s not that they are looking back so much but that they had success and now they are concerned about having success in the future. Where their next meal ticket and the thing that makes them feel good will come from. Zissou goes back to the ocean because he loves the ocean and how to make a life out of it. But to be able to keep going back to the ocean, he’s got to make a documentary. For Bob Harris, he likes being an actor but to stay known he’s got to make a commercial so that he makes some money and be famous somewhere. For me I’ve had lots of things to do and a few years I thought about whether I should be a big movie star. But I didn’t want to be a big movie star I decided I want to live my life and see what happens. At the same time I take these jobs where I don’t make a lot of money but I work with good people and I do what I want to do. Maybe one of them will be a hit one day and I will get what I need in terms of being noticed and damn, “Lost in Translation” did that. But between that I made seven movies that were good but didn’t have it all work at once like that. I like working like that; to not be the biggest star in the world. I’m trying to help “Life Aquatic” but I don’t want to feel desperate. I don’t want to be that guy mumbling into his drink at a bar. I’ve had a great and if I change careers that would be an adventure too.

"The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" opens in theaters everywhere Christmas Day.