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What was only meant to be a break for a year, Eddie Murphy revealed that he stopped acting between 2013 and 2018 after a slew of his films were nominated for the Razzies — a parody award show that honors the worst films and roles.
The comedian and actor had been nominated nine times and won three times for his performances in Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and Meet Dave.
“I was making s—-y movies,” he told comedian Marc Maron on the WTF podcast. “I was like, ‘this s–t ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies.”
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The 59-year-old shared that after he received the Razzie for Worst Actor of the Decade, he decided it was time to step away from acting.
“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 s–t they see me do [to be] bulls–t,” said the Coming 2 America star. “The plan was to go do Dolemite, Saturday Night Live, Coming 2 America and then do stand-up and see how I felt afterwards.”
Although the New York native starred in Mr. Church in 2016, Dolemite Is My Name marked his official return to the spotlight as the film received a 97% approval rate on Rotten Tomatoes (in comparison to Norbit which has a 9% approval rate). The film helped Murphy redeem his negative Razzie legacy as they awarded him the Razzie Redeemer Award during the 2019 ceremony. The film also earned him a Golden Globe nomination for best actor.
With the back-to-back success of Dolemite and Coming 2 America, it’s clear that the comedian is back in full attack.
Tell us: Are you here for another Eddie Murphy stand-up?
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