Eddie Murphy had a meteoric rise to fame in the early 1980s; spring-boarding from SNL to starring in acclaimed comedy movies 48 Hrs, Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop – all before he was 25 years old. In the 90s, he maintained his position in Hollywood with the likes of family movies The Nutty Professor and Doctor Doolittle – which were monster hits.
In the 2000s, Murphy was best-known for playing Shrek‘s Donkey, then in 2007 he released Norbit and everything went downhill from there. Murphy explained to Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in 2021 why he decided to take a break from acting for most of the 2010s, before making a comeback in 2019’s acclaimed comedy drama movie Dolemite is My Name.
The Razzies had ‘awarded’ Murphy as the Worst Actor of the Year for his roles in 2002, 2007 and 2008. But the real kicker came when they named him Worst Actor of the Decade in 2010. “I was making shitty movies. I was like, ‘this shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies.’ Motherf*ckers gave me the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie. So I thought ‘maybe it’s time to take a break’.”
“I was only gonna take a break for a year, then all of a sudden six years go by, and I’m sitting on the couch. And I could sit on the couch and not get off it, but I don’t want the last bunch of shit they [the audience and fans] see me do to be bullshit.”
Since coming back with Dolemite is My Name, Murphy has cashed in the legacy sequel craze for 80s movies with Coming to America 2, and is now working on Beverly Hills Cop 4.
While we wait for more news on the fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie, check out our guide to the best action movies.