Eddie Murphy Reflects on Career Regrets
Eddie Murphy recently opened up about some regrets concerning his movie career. In an interview, the 64-year-old star of “Coming to America” mentioned several iconic films he turned down, expressing a wish that he had accepted those roles.
“Yeah, there are a few films,” he said. “I was supposed to do ‘Ghostbusters,’ but I didn’t. And ‘Rush Hour,’ too. Oh, and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ Those are my top three movies that I wish I’d done.”
When asked why these films stood out to him, Murphy explained, “They were blockbusters.” The original “Ghostbusters,” released in 1984, made over $243 million domestically, leading to a sequel in 1989. Similarly, “Rush Hour” spawned two sequels, while “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” grossed more than $156 million domestically.
Reflecting on his choices, he noted, “Instead, I did ‘Beverly Hills Cop.’ So I thought, ‘Let’s go with this,’ and it worked. At first, ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit?’ sounded silly to me, so I passed. It was later I thought, ‘Wow, that was amazing.’
Despite his regrets, Murphy pointed out that these choices didn’t hinder his career, as he created many memorable characters in films like “The Nutty Professor” and “Dr. Dolittle.” He also received an Academy Award nomination for his role in “Dreamgirls” back in 2006.
Murphy is now reflecting on his impressive journey in comedy, starting from his teenage years, in the new Netflix documentary “Being Eddie.” He mentioned in a recent interview that he didn’t initially intend for the film to take the direction it has, but it traces his return to stand-up comedy.
One of Murphy’s most iconic roles is still as Donkey in the “Shrek” series, with a fifth film set to be released in 2027, 17 years after the fourth installment. Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers will reprise their roles as Fiona and Shrek, while Zendaya is set to join the cast as one of the couple’s triplets.
“I usually get a headache after recording for ‘Shrek.’ Donkey sings a lot—imagine doing that over and over when you’re ten years old. But it’s great to see how much everyone loves the movie,” Murphy shared.
“There’s nothing worse than pouring your heart into a project, getting all made up, and then hearing a ‘thumbs down’ from the audience. I once spent 50 hours in makeup for this!”
