Eddie Murphy has been one of the best and most beloved movie stars on the planet since he first sang The Police’s “Roxanne” off-key in the original 48 Hrs in 1982. Although he’s primarily appreciated as one of the funniest comedians of his generation, he’s also a terrific and versatile actor.
Murphy, who showed off his gifts as a comedic mimic during his Saturday Night Live days, got to show off his chops in the late ‘80s, maybe most memorably in John Landis’ classic blockbuster Coming To America, when he played three very different characters under Rick Baker makeups so effective that most people didn’t figure it out until the end credits.
In 2006, the stars seemed to be aligning for Murphy to earn long-deserved recognition from his peers.
Murphy took a dramatic turn in the smash musical Dreamgirls, playing troubled R&B hitmaker Jimmy “Thunder” Early to almost universal acclaim. The movie became a massive 2007 Academy Awards contender, earning eight nominations.
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Heading into the Oscars ceremony, Murphy had numbered among the favorites to claim the Best Supporting Actor honor. He had earned a Golden Globe already.
But Murphy was up against a loaded tally of competitors — Little Miss Sunshine’s Alan Arkin, Little Children‘s Jackie Earle Haley, Blood Diamond‘s Djimon Hounsou, and one of The Departed’s few actual Bostonians, Mark Wahlberg.
Ultimately, Murphy lost to Arkin. By the time co-star Jennifer Hudson won Best Supporting Actress, he had left the ceremony.
What had been misconstrued in the era’s press as a bitter early exit was, apparently, anything but.
Murphy explained his decision to return before the end of the ceremony while speaking with Jillian Sederholm of Entertainment Weekly.
“What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder,” Murphy said. “Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, I’m not gonna be this guy all night. Let’s just leave.’ I didn’t storm out. I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.’”
That infamous movie tough guy Eastwood — who was up for Best Picture (he was a producer) and Best Director for his great World War II film Letters From Iwo Jima — was so sympathetic and supportive is fascinating to hear.
Murphy later acknowledged how much he respected Arkin’s performance.
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“Jeff Katzenberg invited me over to see Little Miss Sunshine six months before it came out in the theaters, and I literally watched the movie and I watched Alan — and I hadn’t been nominated or anything yet — and I watched the movie and I turned to Jeff afterwards and I said, ‘Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody’s Oscar.’ I said those exact words,” Murphy said. “I was like, ‘He could steal somebody’s Oscar,’ then he stole mine.”
Murphy later clarified that he was essentially kidding about the concept of the Arkin win somehow being a theft of an award he deserved more.
“No, I don’t feel like he stole mine,” Murphy chuckled. Next up for Murphy is a return to the familiar, with him back in the recording booth for 2027’s Shrek 5.
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