Why Eddie Murphy isn’t making a comeback
Eddie Murphy admits he’s no longer anywhere near as prolific as he was in the 80s and 90s, but now he’s red hot again thanks to a hit Netflix comedy-drama. Just don’t say he’s mounting a comeback.
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Since his wisecracking heyday as one of the biggest stars in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, it’s fair to say that Eddie Murphy’s career has been a little hit and miss.
For every hit such as his Oscar nominated turn in 2006’s Dreamgirls and the much loved Donkey in the animated Shrek franchise, there have been plenty of misses, leading to his winning the dubious honour of the Golden Raspberry Award for the worst actor of the decade.
But now the comedy great is racking up his best reviews in years playing ‘70s comedian, musician and self-proclaimed Godfather of Rap, Rudy Ray Moore, who found success through his raunchy persona as Blaxploitation-era icon, Dolemite.
And while Murphy concedes he is no longer anywhere near as prolific as he was in his younger years, he’s loath to call his role in the rave-reviewed Netflix comedy Dolemite Is My Name a comeback.
“I don’t think of Dolemite as a comeback because I’m never going to make movies like I made in the early days, that hustle of doing two or three a year, that’s so far behind me now,” Murphy says.
“The older I get, and I’m 58 now, I’m just trying to get to the couch,” he adds with his trademark laugh.
“That’s what I like to do now is be at home with my kids, where I can hear them. That’s the ultimate thing for me these days.”
However, he does concede that his career is heating up exponentially, reviving a couple of his best loved characters — Axel Foley and Prince Akeem of Zamunda — as well as a return to his first love.
“Yes, I’m doing [the sequel to] Coming To America, and then I’m doing Beverly Hills Cop, and then I’m going back on the road doing stand-up.”
He’ll also be hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time since 1984, revisiting the former stamping ground that spawned his multimillion-dollar career.
“Yes,” he nods. “But then it’s back to the couch.”
It would seem that couch is pretty crowded these days. Murphy is, after all, a father of 10.
“My oldest is 30, my youngest is 10 months. So, right now three of my kids are babies, but most of my kids are grown-ups, in their 20s.
“It makes me a heck of a guy. And I also have my first grandbaby, a granddaughter, and she’s three months old.”
Murphy’s youngest two in the brood are the product of his relationship of eight years with his fiancee, Perth-born model-actress Paige Butcher, 40, who appeared in Something’s Gotta Give and Big Momma’s House 2.
Murphy raised five children with his ex-wife, Nicole Murphy. And he has one child each with ex-girlfriends Paulette McNeely, and Tamara Hood.
He also has a child from a relationship with former Spice Girl, Melanie Brown, in 2007, a daughter he didn’t acknowledge until a DNA test was performed.
“I’ve always had kids around the house, I’m a very hands-on parent. My three-year-old and my 10-month-old take over the house,” he says with a laugh.
“None of my kids are accidental. I wasn’t planning them all but doing what I was doing, the way I was doing it, you can’t say it’s an accident when a baby shows up. And my kids make me laugh the most.”
Murphy enjoys a low-key lifestyle in Los Angeles with Butcher.
“I’m an old school guy. I have a cellphone but I don’t have a computer, and I’ve never Tweeted anything. I’ve never been on social media,” he says.
“When someone says, ‘Oh he’s got a million followers,’ well, that sounds scary to me. A million people following you?’ And then to find, ‘Oh, no, that means they like you,’ well, that’s even scarier!”
Dolemite Is My Name is directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) who also helms Coming 2 America (the sequel to the 1988 hit).
The cast is rounded out by fellow stars Wesley Snipes and Chris Rock, also fans of the Dolemite character made famous by Moore, who starred in the self-titled 1975 cult film. Dolemite was a persona Moore also used in his stand-up to satirise Blaxploitation icons such as Shaft and Superfly.
Evidently, Moore’s story struck a real chord with Murphy.
“I first got exposed to his movies when I was a teenager and I listened to his albums when I was young. He was really funny. And when I got older and learned about his story, how he had to finance his pictures and his records, the fact he had to do everything himself I thought that was very inspiring.
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“Rudy wasn’t good looking, he wasn’t the funniest comedian and he had none of the ingredients a person needs to become a movie star, but he has the most important thing, which is the belief in himself, to the point where he puts whatever money he makes back into himself. So, I thought it was an inspiring character.
“And this might sound like something you read in a self-help book, but I believe it’s true. The most important ingredient if you’re trying to accomplish something in life, is belief in yourself.”
Triumph through adversity is the stuff of many a compelling biopic, as recent examples such as Elton John’s Rocketman or Freddie Mercury’s Bohemian Rhapsody would have proved. How would Murphy’s life measure up onscreen?
“I don’t think my life would make a great movie,” he says.
“I’ve had such a blessed life. I got on Saturday Night Live when I was 18 years old and when I was 20, I did 48 Hours, and I’ve been making movies for almost 40 years. It’s not like there was any drug addiction, or abuse. It would be a boring movie. Nothing tragic has happened in my life.”
Undoubtedly, Murphy made an indelible mark in comedy — and was ranked No. 10 on US network Comedy Central’s 100 Greatest Standups of All Time.
Some of his blockbuster hits include Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, 48 Hours, The Nutty Professor, Dr. Doolittle, and Shrek.
He is widely cited as the most influential stand-up comedian of his generation, and his specials, Delirious, and Raw, continue to inspire up-and-coming comedians.
“When I first started doing stand-up comedy, there might have been 100 comedians in the whole country. Now it’s thousands of comedians around the world,” he says with a shake of his head.
“Back then, it was like saying, ‘I’m a juggler,’ or ‘A magician.’ It was not the main attraction. The last time I did it, I was 28 years old, no kids, and 30 years later, so much life has happened since then. I’m curious to see how it will be now and what that experience done. That’s why I’m going into it again.”
Well past the need to prove himself, he never feels the need to be ‘on,’ when he’s in public.
“If you’re around me, eventually I’m going to say something funny. But I don’t feel pressured. I just say and look at things in a funny way, I guess.”
Dolemite Is My Name is on Netflix from October 25.