Hey, It's That Guy Sam McMurray!
January 30, 2008

“Hey, it’s that guy” is a declaration that can be heard on a more-or-less weekly basis in my living room, delivered with flair by my fianceé upon her seeing a recognizable character actor face on a TV show or movie. Such was the case when I popped Fox’s just-released Lake Placid 2 into the DVD player and the familiar visage of Sam McMurray filled the screen. McMurray plays the role of Struthers, a big game hunter out to bag a trophy in the form of the placid pond’s monstrous resident alligator.

Remember Uncle Junior’s doctor on The Sopranos, the one that Tony threatened on the golf course? That’s Sam McMurray. Or Nicolas Cage’s brother-in-law in Raising Arizona, the one who had problems with his

“Yeah, I get an amazing amount of recognition from the TV shows,” McMurray confirmed in a recent telephone interview.   I’ve done crime and drama and comedy between all the shows and movies, but I really had never done the sci-fi genre until Lake Placid, so this is something new.”

The film shot for several weeks in Bulgaria last summer in an atmosphere that McMurray describes as “controlled excess.”

“In Bulgaria, the dollar is very strong,” he said. “Unfortunately, they have gambling everywhere which didn’t work for me.”

In addition to his countless TV appearance, film roles and DVD Premieres (another genre title, Lionsgate’s Killer Pad directed by Robert Englund, is streeting on Feb. 5), McMurray is also quite active in the voiceover arena, most recently contributing to the animated shows Justice League and The Boondocks. He enjoys the work and has a very clear idea about what it means to a performer of his stature in the industry.

“The whole business has changed – it used to be you could make a living making features. In the old days, as you progressed, your money went up. That’s not the case now,” explained native New Yorker McMurray (“I miss it like crazy—21 years I’ve been in L.A. and I still miss New York so much!). About 15 years ago, studios decided it’s scale plus ten for everybody except people like Tom Hanks and Will Smith. Really, the only place you can make money these days is on TV and voiceovers.”

Posted by Laurence Lerman on January 30, 2008 | Comments (0)