Not Bill Murray, Not Tom Skerritt: This Sigourney Weaver Co-Star Said Their Movie 'Ruined' His Career

Generally speaking, having a prominent role in a well-received movie that also happens to star enduring screen legend Sigourney Weaver is bound to be a recipe for success. Bill Murray's career reached new heights after starring opposite Weaver in the beloved 1984 supernatural comedy "Ghostbusters." And let's not forget Tom Skerritt, whose leading role alongside Weaver in the 1979 horror classic "Alien" only added more fuel to his upward trajectory. However, that magic touch apparently has its limits. According to fellow actor William McNamara, who appeared opposite Weaver in the 1995 psychological thriller "Copycat," the movie sent his career into a total nosedive. 

Now, to be clear, McNamara's career didn't suffer because of anything to do with Weaver personally — or even his own performance, for that matter. On the contrary, he might have been a little too good in "Copycat." According to the man himself, McNamara was so convincing as serial killer Peter Foley, the film's main antagonist, that most casting agents refused to go anywhere near him afterwards. Mind you, this sort of thing is hardly unheard of. Linda Blair famously struggled to shed the reputation that came with her terrifying performance as the girl in "The Exorcist."  

"['Copycat'] ruined my career,"  McNamara told Yahoo! in July 2025. "I was on the leading man trajectory — the good guy roles. All of a sudden [...] casting agents said, 'No, I saw Billy in 'Copycat.' He's too edgy. He's too dark. He's too comfortable in that role. There's no acting. That had to be him." To add insult to injury, the actor's romantic life also suffered. As McNamara sadly recalled, "[Women] saw the movie, and my character disturbed them." Again, this isn't exactly unprecedented. Martha Stewart ended her budding romance with Hollywood icon Anthony Hopkins after watching him play Hannibal Lecter.

With the advent of streaming, it's become increasingly common for older films and TV shows to find entire new generations of viewers, which is precisely what happened to "Copycat" in June 2025, when the 30-year-old movie unexpectedly cracked Netflix's Top 10 list. In fact, that seems to be what prompted Yahoo! to reach out to star William McNamara in the first place. As one might expect, the actor was shocked to see the movie he credits with destroying his career suddenly becoming popular again. Moreover, McNamara was only tipped off to the whole thing by the fact that his online profiles started blowing up. 

"I was getting 100 new Instagram followers a day and all these [direct] messages," the actor explained to Yahoo! "I go on IMDbPro's STARmeter, and usually I'm between 5,000 to 10,000, which is not bad for a '90s star, by the way. I was 165, above Angelina Jolie. I thought it was a mistake. Then a couple of people started texting: 'Hey, Copycat is trending.'" This was apparently somewhat vindicating for the longtime actor, who quipped, "They should give me another shot today." 

Though McNamara found steady work well into the 2020s, he's also been open about his struggles with drug addiction, which further derailed his career trajectory. The "Copycat" star eventually pivoted from showbusiness to animal rights activism. That said, he pivoted right back to tell his story (or, at least, a version of it) in the indie streaming series "The Trouble With Billy." "It was very cathartic taking some of the worst episodes in my life, some of my biggest mistakes, and distilling them into playable scenes," McNamara confirmed to The Los Angeles Inquisitor in May 2026.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).