Bill Murray Recited a Dog Poem Set to Bach, Then Fell Asleep During ‘Isle of Dogs’ SXSW Premiere — Watch

Bill Murray brought his trademark lovable weirdness to Austin, Texas to mark the North American premiere of “Isle of Dogs” at the SXSW Film Festival. The Wes Anderson-directed movie was closing this year’s edition of the festival, and Murray had memorable appearances both before and after the stop-motion film’s screening.

On the afternoon of March 17, Murray popped up on the streets of Austin, Texas to perform a live rendition of Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem “Dog.” The actor was accompanied by a cellist performing music by Johann Sebastian Bach as he read the poem aloud in front of a group of tourists and festival attendees. Video of the performance has earned more than 62,000 views in two days.

#BillMurray reading a poem about a dog is something you never knew you needed…until now. @isleofdogsmovie #SXSW pic.twitter.com/z7GkTsy4rG

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) March 18, 2018

Later in the evening, Murray joined Anderson and his “Isle of Dogs” co-stars Kunichi Nomura, Bob Balaban, and Jeff Goldblum for a discussion moderated by Robert Rodriguez after the movie screened to a sold-out crowd. Murray got a little drowsy and struggled to stay awake when the conversation didn’t concern him. According to USA Today and fans on Twitter, Murray ended up taking a quick nap on stage.

Bill Murray stayed awake long enough to sass someone, then took a nap at the #IsleOfDogs panel. 😴#legend #SXSW2018 #WesAnderson #premiere 🐕 pic.twitter.com/u3H4MuJaCI

— Carly Mallenbaum (@ThatGirlCarly) March 18, 2018

“Isle of Dogs” opens in select theaters this Friday, March 23.