I Love This Eddie Murphy Interview

Summary

Cannonball with Wesley Morris: “I Love This Eddie Murphy Interview”

Date: November 27, 2025
Host: Wesley Morris (featuring David Marchese’s interview with Eddie Murphy)
Podcast: The New York Times

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Episode Overview

This week, Cannonball host Wesley Morris shares a special episode cross-posted from The New York Times podcast The Interview, featuring a revealing and unexpectedly personal conversation with Eddie Murphy, conducted by David Marchese. The discussion coincides with the new Netflix documentary Being Eddie Murphy and the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, inviting listeners to explore Murphy’s cultural impact, creative process, and perspectives on stardom, comedy, and the realities of fame—particularly as a groundbreaking Black entertainer.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Eddie Murphy’s Meteoric Rise and His Perspective on Fame

• Taking Success for Granted (06:36–07:44):
  Murphy recounts the early days of his career, reflecting on his youth and the speed of his success, admitting that at the time he simply "went with it" and thought his meteoric rise was normal.

  • Quote:

    “Now I look back on those times and I trip about how young I was. But back then, I kind of took it for granted.”
    — Eddie Murphy (06:36)

• Manifesting Fame (07:44–08:42):
  Murphy claims he prophesied his own fame from his early teens, describing dinner at Marlon Brando's house post-48 Hours, which seemed remarkable only in hindsight.

2. Encounter with Hollywood Legends

• Stories about Marlon Brando (08:42–09:53):
  Murphy shares anecdotes of dining with Brando, noting Brando's indifference to The Godfather and dismissiveness of Clint Eastwood ("that kid with the gun").

  • Memorable moment: Murphy describes Brando waiting in the car for him due to a time mix-up.

• Becoming the Veteran (10:03–10:30):
  Now at Brando’s age from those meetings, Murphy jokes he’s too out of touch with new stars to feel compelled to “check out the next generation.”

3. Comedian, Artist, and Sensitivity

• Rejecting the “Comic” Label (10:45–12:24):
  Despite public perception, Murphy emphasizes he no longer sees himself as only a comedian, but a multifaceted artist:

  “That’s one aspect of who I am, that I’m a comedian, but I see myself as an artist. I’m a super sensitive artist, and I can dabble…I do a bunch of stuff. I don’t just go, ‘Oh, I’m a comedian.’ Comedian is one part of it.”
  — Eddie Murphy (10:58)

• On Energy and Award Shows (11:34–12:24):
  Murphy describes his heightened sensitivity, especially to “horrible energy” at celebrity events.

4. Stand-Up and Leaving the Stage

• No Desire to Return (12:44–14:09):
  Murphy likens being asked about returning to standup to asking a military general to go back to “the front lines," indicating contentment with his creative evolution and no interest in returning, especially post-pandemic.

5. Dream Projects and Creative Self-Doubt

• “Soul, Soul, Soul”—The Elusive Film (14:19–18:21; 52:06–53:50):
  Murphy describes (and plays) a mock trailer for his fake documentary about a forgotten soul legend, a project he loves but has hesitated to make due to fears of self-indulgence and limited audience appeal.
  • Sample dialogue from trailer:

    “I coined the phrase ‘I have a dream’ before Martin Luther King.”
    — Eddie Murphy as “Mary Murray” (16:55)

6. Daily Life & Finding Joy

• Favorite Ways to Spend Time (18:21–20:22):
  Despite his stardom, Murphy cherishes “doing nothing”—playing guitar at home, listening for his kids, or indulging in “unhip” TV like Family Feud and The Masked Singer:

  “I like a day where there’s nothing…and my kids, I can hear… where they at. It’s just quiet and I sit around and play guitar. The ideal day for me is nothing.”
  — Eddie Murphy (18:27)

7. On Laughter, Audience, and Neediness

• Not a “Needy” Comic (21:59–23:50):
  Murphy explains he never sought audience validation—he always had approval, never “bombed,” and doesn’t chase laughter:

  “The audience? I never even take the audience into consideration. I’m like, this is what I’m doing…If the audience likes it, great. If they don’t like it…everything isn’t for everybody.”
  — Eddie Murphy (21:59)

8. Lessons from Fame and the Cautionary Tales

• Navigating Hollywood as a Black Superstar (31:39–34:40):
  Murphy details the unique perils for young Black artists in a system not built for them, and how icons like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Elvis serve as "cautionary tales." He credits "providence" (or luck) for avoiding pitfalls:

  “When you get famous, really young, especially a black artist, I liken it to… living in a minefield at any moment you can step on a mine. At any moment, something could happen that can undo everything… Now [at] this age I can look back and be like, wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years in it.”
  — Eddie Murphy (33:02)

9. Artistic Process, Challenge, and Self-Assessment

• Gravitating Toward What Works (36:56–39:08):
  Murphy admits he seeks projects that play to his strengths and guarantee laughs, rather than those he finds “challenging."

  “I don’t gravitate towards things that I think would be challenging… I want to do something that I know works and something that I know I could be funny doing.”
  — Eddie Murphy (37:34)

• Flops and “Corny” Movies (39:08–40:02):
  Murphy humorously recalls his son’s blunt post-screening review of Pluto Nash: "Corny" (39:09).

10. The Return of Axel Foley and Genre Legacy

• Making Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (40:02–41:42):
  The long road to reviving Axel Foley required Jerry Bruckheimer’s touch and a return to the franchise’s core emotional engine.
  • On the influence of Beverly Hills Cop:

    “Before Beverly Hills Cop, Cops were really serious…there was no comedy with the cops. Beverly Hills Cop kind of pioneered that.”
    — Eddie Murphy (41:11)

11. Dealing with Criticism and “Cheap Shots”

• Press Hostility and Racism (46:09–48:10):
  Murphy describes how being a trailblazer in Hollywood drew relentless, sometimes racist media attacks, and unfair critiques even from Black media:

  “Back in the old days, they used to be relentless on me. And a lot of it was racist stuff. You know, it was a whole different…world.”
  — Eddie Murphy (47:04)

• Saturday Night Live and David Spade Incident (49:05–50:18):
  He recounts the “falling star” joke made on SNL after a flop film, which personally stung due to his pivotal role in the show’s survival—“it hurt my feelings like that” (49:05).

12. Philosophy on the Audience and Artistic Bet

• "The Audience Doesn’t Know What’s Funny" (51:10–52:01):
  Murphy insists his instincts are the best guide, not focus groups or trends.

  “The audience has no clue what’s funny. You gotta show them what’s funny. They don’t know. And if something is funny to me…I’ve never had…that made me laugh that…audience just sat there and looked at me.”
  — Eddie Murphy (51:25)

13. Curiosity, News, and the Importance of Presence

• Avoiding Information Overload (54:26–55:07):
  Murphy says he’ll binge on news occasionally, but avoids constant consumption for his own sanity:

  “If you watch that shit every day, you go fucking crazy…You can’t be in the present moment. I’m trying to be right here all the time. This moment, this is the only moment that’s real.”
  — Eddie Murphy (54:26)

14. Odd Tales: Government Bugs and Kevin Hart Dinners

• On finding a bug in his bedroom (57:20–57:53):
  Murphy recounts finding a microphone in his bedroom in the 1980s, with his typical comedic spin:

  “In the 80s, all they heard in my room was serious fucking going there. That’s all they heard in my room. They would listen to the bug saying, God damn, you be doing some serious fucking.”
  — Eddie Murphy (57:33)

• Dinner with Comedy Royalty (58:08–59:46):
  When Kevin Hart and others expressed awe at Murphy's trailblazing, Murphy humbly minimizes his role:

  “I didn’t lay down a path. They took their own path. What happened with me was…the comic can be the main attraction.”
  — Eddie Murphy (59:11)

15. Success, Blessings, and Legacy

• Blessed from the Beginning (60:34–61:26):
  Murphy maintains he always viewed his career as a blessing—crediting laughter and its power above all:

  “To make people laugh—that’s more than anything…All the good things that came in my life…came from making somebody laugh, that’s a beautiful feeling, man.”
  — Eddie Murphy (61:17)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “When stuff worked and became hit movies, I was like, okay, yeah, that’s what it’s supposed to be, right? I realize now, I was like, wow, that was a trip.”
  — Eddie Murphy (06:36)

• “Comedian is one part of it…I see myself as a super sensitive artist.”
  — Eddie Murphy (10:58)

• “That’s why I hate going to award shows. The most horrible energy in the world is a room full of famous people…”
  — Eddie Murphy (11:38)

• “You ever think about going back to the front line, have bullets whiz past your ear again?…It’s much easier just doing this.”
  — Eddie Murphy on stand-up (13:24)

• “I coined the phrase ‘I have a dream’ before Martin Luther King.”
  — Eddie Murphy as Mary Murray in Soul, Soul, Soul (16:55)

• "Corny."
  — Eddie Murphy’s son Miles’ review of Pluto Nash (39:09)

• “Before Beverly Hills Cop…there was no comedy with the cops. Beverly Hills Cop kind of pioneered that.”
  — Eddie Murphy (41:11)

• “Back in the old days, they used to be relentless on me. And a lot of it was racist stuff.”
  — Eddie Murphy (47:04)

• “The audience has no clue what’s funny. You gotta show them what’s funny. They don’t know.”
  — Eddie Murphy (51:25)

• “If you watch [the news] every day, you go fucking crazy.…I’m trying to be right here all the time. This moment, this is the only moment that’s real.”
  — Eddie Murphy (54:26)

• “I always felt like it was a blessing. There’s no higher blessing. It would make people laugh.”
  — Eddie Murphy (61:17)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 06:36 – Murphy on his youthful ascent and taking early success for granted
• 08:42 – Stories of meeting Marlon Brando
• 10:45 – Murphy rejects the "just a comedian" label
• 12:44 – Stand-up: why Murphy has no desire to return
• 14:19–18:21, 52:06–53:50 – “Soul, Soul, Soul”: dream project and creative hesitation
• 18:21 – Everyday life, homebody confessions, and TV habits
• 21:59 – Relationship to audience and not being needy for laughs
• 31:39 – On the dangers of being a young Black artist in Hollywood
• 39:09 – Candid feedback from his son on "Pluto Nash"
• 40:02 – The making and legacy of Beverly Hills Cop
• 47:04 – Experiences with racist media and “cheap shots”
• 49:05 – SNL/David Spade incident
• 51:10 – Philosophy on the audience and comedy instincts
• 54:26 – Managing (dis)engagement from news and online content
• 57:20 – Bedroom bug story
• 58:08 – Dinner with Hart, Chappelle, Rock, and others
• 60:34 – Recognizing his career as a lifelong blessing

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Conclusion

This episode captures Eddie Murphy at his most reflective, weaving together sharp humor, industry insights, and surprising vulnerability. From his pioneering influence in stand-up and film to his ongoing struggle with creative self-doubt and his enduring sense of gratitude for making people laugh, Murphy emerges as both an icon and a deeply human artist reckoning with legacy, family, and the nature of his gifts.

(For full episodes and more, visit nytimes.com/theinterview)

Transcript

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[Wesley]

Hey everybody, it's Wesley and Happy Tea Day. Just wanna start with that. And because it's tea Day, we at Cannonball are going to take this Thursday off. We'll be back next week. But in the meantime, I would like to share with you something else that the New York Times also makes. And it is an episode of the Interview. And the reason that I am sharing this particular episode is that we here on Cannonball practice criticism. We talk about things that people have made. And on the Interview, what frequently happens is the hosts, they talk to the people who make the things that we hear on Cannonball wind up talking about. So there's this new Netflix documentary about Eddie Murphy and it's called Being Eddie Murphy. I cannot believe they could not come up with a better title. But there you have it. One of the greatest movie stars of all time gets one of the most basic titles for a documentary about him. But the whole time I was watching this thing, I just kept thinking, you know, Eddie Murphy was being Eddie Murphy really well on the Interview. And that conversation is funny. It is really surprising. At some point, Eddie Murphy, you'll hear it. He plays for David Marchese, the trailer for a movie he's been trying to make for a long time. Anyway, I just found this side of Eddie Murphy to be revealing. He seemed newly open to talking about his life and it's a really great companion experience to this Netflix documentary. That's it. Please enjoy it and we'll be back next week.

[David Marchese]

Happy Tea Day. From the New York Times, this is the Interview. I'm David Marchese. Eddie Murphy has been so famous for so long that it can be easy to take for granted or just plain overlook how game changing a figure he actually is as a standup. He was a total rock star. Eddie Murphy, raw from 1987 is the highest grossing stand up comedy film ever released. And he brought that sheer comedic firepower to TV too. At the risk of overstating it, and I don't think I am, he can take pretty much sole credit for rescuing Saturday Night Live from its early 80s slump. But he made his greatest mark in movies, where he became one of the biggest stars of all time. He reached new heights of popularity and bankability, especially for a comedian and especially for a black actor. He pioneered the action comedy genre with movies like Beverly hills cop and 48 hours, and later he made classics out of family friendly films too, like the Nutty professor and Shrek movies. Simply put, there is American pop culture before Eddie Murphy and American pop culture after Eddie Murphy. And now he's returning to the character that sent his career into overdrive with Beverly Hills Cop. Axl f. It comes 40 years after the first film in the series, and Murphy is back as the wisecracking detective Axel Foley. In recent years, Murphy's been a somewhat remote and enigmatic offscreen presence. A But as I found out over the course of our two conversations, now is a good moment for Murphy to reflect on what he's accomplished, spin some Hollywood stories, explain why stand up doesn't appeal to him anymore, and reveal the dream project he's never been able to get off the ground. Here's my conversation with Eddie Murphy. And just a heads up here. Big surprise. This episode has some pretty salty language in it.

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[David Marchese]

You know, you've been around working professionally for. It's gotta be close to 50 years if you include starting at standup. And I think, you know, because you've been around for so long and been successful for so long, people might take for granted just sort of how unprecedented your success was. Like, when all that was happening and things were skyrocketing, like around the time of the first Beverly Hills Cop, which I guess after 48 hours, did you feel like you, as a comedian, as a movie star, as a black movie star, understood what it was about you specifically that met the moment so perfectly?

[Eddie Murphy]

No. And not even in retrospect. I'm 22 when I do Beverly Hills Cop, and I'm 20 years old when I started doing 48 hours. So now I look back on those times and I trip about how young I was. But back then, I kind of took it for granted. This is just stuff that was happening and one thing had led to another and I wound up on a movie set and I just went with it. And then when stuff worked and became hit movies, I was like, okay, yeah, that's what it's supposed to be, right? I realize now, I was like, wow, that was a trip that it came together like that back then, I guess I kind of took it for granted.

[David Marchese]

What do you think it meant for you for stuff to be blowing up the way it did? Like you said, you took it for granted, which, you know, in retrospect, that's a crazy. It's like you're becoming the biggest movie star in the world, the biggest comedian. Like, yeah, this seems like it's going how it should. It seems as if that would be something that could kind of be hard for someone to reconcile with who they are in some ways, because even at that age, you're still figuring out who you are.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, but I knew I started maybe around 13, 14, I started saying that I was going to be famous. I tell my mother when I'm famous, yada, yada. And I was always. So when I got famous, it was like, I told you I was going to be famous. Now, I didn't know how big it was going to get, and I knew I was going to get famous. That was having, you know, like, these famous people that I grew up watching on television where, you know, wanting to have a meal with me after 48 hours, Marlon Brando calls my agent and wants to meet me And I go to Marlon Brando's house and have dinner with Marlon Brando. And I was, you know, I was like, okay, I guess that's what happens, you know. Now at this age, I look back and go, wow, that's fucking crazy. The whole idea that, you know, your first movie, the greatest actor of all times wants to have dinner with me. I went and hung out with him a few times, you know, but back then I just thought, oh, that's the way it is. You make a movie and then Marlon Brando calls.

[David Marchese]

Do you remember that dinner? He's, he. I mean, I, I'm fascinated by that.

[Eddie Murphy]

I went to him, I went to. The very first time we were supposed to meet was at the l' Hermitage in Los Angeles. He came to the hotel and we had dinner at the up the top place, at the restaurant on the top. Then the second time was at his house and he came and picked me up at the hotel. But I thought that it was at 8 o'.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Clock.

[Eddie Murphy]

It was a time mix up. And I came down like a half hour late. And he was waiting for me in the car, Randall just sitting, waiting for me. And we went to his house on Mulholland. And I was just going on and on about the Godfather and he didn't even want to talk about the guy. He was like, godfather? He was like, not just the Godfather, acting. He was like, acting is bullshit and everybody can act. And so, and so. And he had. This is how long ago this was. He was going, and that kid, I can't stand that kid with the gun. And I was like, what kid with the gun? He's got, he's on the poster, he's got the gun. That was like Clint Eastwood. Yeah, that guy was like, that's how long ago it was. He was calling Clint Eastwood. That kid.

[David Marchese]

CLINT Eastwood is 93 years old now. Just so.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, that's how long ago it was.

[David Marchese]

Are there folks that, you know, you see coming up and you think, I just wanna, I'm curious about this person?

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, I'm around Brando's age. Like he was when he went to me. Is there, is there some 20 year old that's on the scene that I'm like calling my agent going, absolutely not, absolutely not. I'm so out of touch. I used to be so hip. I used to know who everybody was. And now there's just so much stuff. Ask my wife, who's this person? They'd be, oh, that songs are the biggest thing in the world. I don't even, I don't even know what's going on.

[David Marchese]

You know, I just watched. There's a really good conversation with you and Jerry Seinfeld that was. It was for some Netflix event. And I think in that, you know, you describe yourself as, like, fundamentally, you think of yourself as a comedian.

[Eddie Murphy]

And fundamentally, me personally think I think of myself as a comedian. I said that?

[David Marchese]

Yeah, yeah. Does that sound wrong?

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah. Cause I don't see my think of myself as a comedian at all. I think myself.

[David Marchese]

Oh, really?

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah. That's one aspect of who I am, that I'm a comedian, but I see myself as an artist. I'm a super sensitive artist, and I can dabble. I can express myself creatively in a bunch of different ways. Like, I. I'm a musician, and I write screenplays, and, you know, and I sing, and I'm funny, and I just do a bunch of stuff. I do a bunch of stuff. I don't just go, oh, I'm a comedian. Comedian is one part of it.

[David Marchese]

What do you mean when you say, you describe yourself as a super sensitive artist?

[Eddie Murphy]

Like, I could pick up energy. I can tell what's, like if somebody's got something going on under their skin while I'm talking to them. I could feel that even super sensitive. If I walk in a room, I could tell who's getting ready to come over here and say something and who's trying to act like they don't care that I'm there. I feel all of that shit. That's why I hate going to award shows. The most horrible energy in the world is a room full of famous people going through their whole famous thing, and, you know, who's the most famous and who's cool and who's. And all of that energy going on. Everybody acting and that. I hate that feeling.

[David Marchese]

Yeah. Just to go back to what I was kind of trying to lead towards with the Seinfeld thing, where I understand sort of fundamentally you're an artist and not a comedian. But I think the context was like, he was kind of nudging you, and the moderator was nudging you. Like, when are you gonna do stand up? Which I think people ask you all the time, when are you gonna go back to do stand up?

[Eddie Murphy]

I'm not a comic. I'm not a Com comic. I still do funny things and I write funny stuff, but I haven't been a comic since, you know, I was 27.

[David Marchese]

Is that something that's still appealing to you in any fashion?

[Eddie Murphy]

Well, it's a whole different world now. I used to have little periods where I'd be like, I'm gonna do it again. And then like, why? Why am I gonna do. The closest I got to doing it again was right before the pandemic. I actually was like, you know, I'm gonna do standup again. Cause I had done Saturday Night Live and I was like, let me go back. And I said, I did snl. Let me go do one stand up special and bring it all full circle. And then the pandemic hit and we were, you know, stuck in the house for two years and I wasn't going, oh, when I get out of here, I want to do stand up again. And it's like. And now it's, it's. Here's a good analogy. It's like somebody that was in the military, you know, and they were on the front line in Vietnam or whatever, and they got all these medals because they did all this amazing stuff. But then they moved up and they became like a general in the army. So it's like going to the general and saying, hey, you ever think about going back to the front line? Have bullets whiz past your ear again? It's like, no, it's much easier just doing this.

[David Marchese]

Do you have a dream project? Like, if you could snap your fingers and knew it was gonna happen, what is the movie that Eddie Murphy would wanna make?

[Eddie Murphy]

Oh, gee, I don't know. I don't have like a dream project. I don't have something that was sitting around for years and years. Well, actually I do have things like that, but they're not. I don't know if they ever would ever get made. They're like things crazy ideas that I.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Had.

[Eddie Murphy]

This one thing I've been threatening to do for maybe 20 years called Soul, Soul, Soul. It's like, it's a fake documentary that I love. And everybody, whenever I show people the material on it, I'll show people the characters. We shot, like this fake trailer and everything. They were like, hey, when are you going to make this movie? And I'm like, I don't know. I want to make it, but I just can't figure out how to do it.

[David Marchese]

What would the fake documentary be about?

[Eddie Murphy]

It's about this guy who. It's kind of like zellig kind of thing about it where it's this guy who's part of the rock and roll and R and B thing back in the 60s and did all the most and the biggest and worked with everybody, and we never heard of him. But all his great moments in rock and roll and he's attached to all of these things. He says, bitter artist. And. Yeah, where's my phone? Is my.

[David Marchese]

Oh, okay, I'm gonna break in here to explain what exactly is going on. So Eddie pulls out his phone and starts looking for something on it.

[Eddie Murphy]

Where is it? Where is so, so, so.

[David Marchese]

And then for the next three and a half minutes, Eddie Murphy holds the phone up to his computer camera and shows me this trailer for a movie that doesn't exist. Okay, so he has 200 gold records sold. 35. He has 35 Grammys, six lifetime achievement awards. You're showing me a video. He's been inducted into the Soul Music hall of Fame twice. The world knows him by a single. A double name. If you got a record player.

[Eddie Murphy]

You know, Mary Murray.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I could sing for.

[Eddie Murphy]

I could talk.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

If you read the scriptures and the.

[David Marchese]

Humor here, most of it is delivered in documentary style talking head confessionals. And it's classic Eddie Murphy.

[Eddie Murphy]

I remember the first girl I had intercourse with. Oh, who was that? Yes.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Little woman named Daisy.

[David Marchese]

And how old were you?

[Eddie Murphy]

And how old was she? I was nine and she was 37.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I have a dream that one day.

[Eddie Murphy]

I coined the phrase I have a dream before Martin Luther King.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I have a dream today that's likely.

[Eddie Murphy]

Gonna be what's gonna be the name of I have my have a dream. He liked the way that flowed with a good look. Then he took that and run with it. You know what I mean?

[David Marchese]

Wait, so how much of this have you made?

[Eddie Murphy]

It's almost over. I can't cry no more. That's where my soul.

[David Marchese]

Keep watching.

[Eddie Murphy]

He contracted soulitis. Soulitis? Cold.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

You name it, I got.

[Eddie Murphy]

I can crack the soulitis.

[David Marchese]

Yes.

[Eddie Murphy]

And that come from singing soul school for too long.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

And my doctor told me if I.

[Eddie Murphy]

Sang another note, I could die. He told me I'm one note away from dying. It's the worst case of soul life. That's how James Rand died. Soul artis. Otis Ribbon, too. They say it was a plane crash.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Soul artist.

[David Marchese]

You get the idea. And like I said, this went on for a while. So let's skip to the end and get back to the interview.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Soul, Soul, Soul.

[Eddie Murphy]

The Murray Murray story. Pip the cat. Yeah. So that's, that's probably about 10 years old now.

[David Marchese]

Well, I, I, I'd see that movie.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, but we haven't been. I've almost, I'm telling you, almost made this movie a bunch of times. I've been right to where I was going to make it and then say, no, not right now. Because I feel like it's so self indulgent and I feel like only a few people would go see it, but they would laugh so fucking hard.

[David Marchese]

When you're home and not working on stuff, you know, not making music or not writing, what's an ideal day for you?

[Eddie Murphy]

Nothing. I like to do nothing. I like a day where there's nothing. And my kids, I can hear my kids, you know, in wherever they at. It's just quiet and I sit around and play guitar. The ideal day for me is nothing.

[David Marchese]

Was it always like that?

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah. When I was a little boy, when we would get in trouble, the punishment for my brothers was that they couldn't go outside. And when I got in trouble, the punishment was I couldn't watch tv. I could go outside, but instead I would be sitting in the house crying because I couldn't watch tv. I loved to watch TV my whole life was a TV watcher. And cut school and, and take the blanket and put it over the dining room table and take the TV and put it under the table and have like a little tent under there and have my little junk food and just watch tv and it's always been, always been a homebody.

[David Marchese]

What do you watch now? Anything.

[Eddie Murphy]

I'm ashamed to say what I stuff I watch now.

[David Marchese]

Tell me.

[Eddie Murphy]

It's not hip stuff, you know, I watch every night. I'm not ashamed to say it. I watch every night at 6 o' clock when I eat dinner, watch Steve Harvey and Family Feud and on Tuesdays I watch the Masked Singer. We do, my wife and I, we watch all those shows, the singing competitions and that kind of stuff. I be like, nah, I ain't even supposed to be watching no shit like this. And then you say, I wonder who that turtle is. That shit pull you in, you be wondering who it is. Last year I watched all of the Golden Bachelor. Hey, they broke up too, you know they broke up.

[David Marchese]

I know.

[Eddie Murphy]

What kind of shit? Just recently, three months later, I watched that shit. I was like, this is so nice. They found love in the second part of their life and this is a nice show. Bravo. Then I find Broke up three months later, the same old.

[David Marchese]

Wait, I'm, I'm thinking of this because it's related to when you described yourself as sensitive. You know, I remember this is probably funny.

[Eddie Murphy]

I'm very sensitive. What do you watch? Family Feud and the Man, Golden Bachelor. Yeah, that's how sensitive you are. As you know, I'm a very sensitive artist. Really? So what do you watch? Family Feud.

[David Marchese]

Wait, let me compose Myself. Okay, yes. So you're a sensitive artist. And I was thinking about just the other day, it popped into my mind how it was around the time of the Saturday Night Live 40th anniversary show. And I don't know if you don't seem like a guy who was on Twitter, but Norm MacDonald posted this big story about sort of how they were trying to get you to be on a celebrity Jeopardy sketch for the 40th anniversary show. You didn't want to do it, but. But the thing he said that was interesting to me, or most interesting was, you know, it's like, everyone knew it would kill, but, you know, for whatever reason, you didn't want to do it. And the thing that Norm then said was, eddie doesn't need the laughs the way that the rest of us need the laughs. What is your relationship to the audience? Do you feel like you need something from them on any level?

[Eddie Murphy]

The audience? I never even take the audience into consideration. I'm like, this is what I'm doing. This is what it is. And here. And if the audience likes it, great. And if they don't like it, you know, I'm onto it. Everything isn't for everybody, and I move on. A lot of comedians started out as, you know, kind of like the outsider type person who used their sense of humor to, you know, become an insider, become cool. And. And I was never, like, I graduated most popular boy. I was a popular kid. And because I was funny, I was always, like, a really popular guy and stuff. So I'm not the needy comic. And they were always laughing from the very beginning. The very first time I heard a crowd of people laughing was on a bus coming from McCarren Pool in Brooklyn. And we're in the back of the bus. I might be like, 8, 9 years old. And when a person would get off a bus, I would do, like, the voice that that person is saying when they got off the bus. And I was in the back doing it loud. So if a guy would look like a cop when he got off the bus, I would start saying, like, a cop's voice. Hey, I'm going to do so. And the people on the bus were laughing. Every time I would person got off the bus and people were laughing, I was like, okay, who's he gonna do now? And I did it all. And when I got off the bus, the whole bus clapped. It's like, oh, yay. I was like 8, 9 years old. That was the first time I was like, well, I can make a crowd of people laugh. And then I was just that guy. So I never went through that period where you're trying to find what's funny about me and trying to get laughs and the bombing and all that shit. I didn't go through all of that. They were laughing from the beginning. So I never. I was never a needy, needy comedian.

[David Marchese]

You know, you said you kind of always had the audience's approval. You didn't have the needy comic thing. But at some point, does the money become like the symbolic thing that shows your status in the world?

[Eddie Murphy]

Because the money showed my status.

[David Marchese]

Yeah, like the money that you were getting from Hollywood. You know, it's like, oh, this other person made this amount of dollars. I gotta make this. Or, you know, just.

[Eddie Murphy]

No, I didn't have that either. After 48 hours, Paramount gave me some five picture deal. And at the time, it was like crazy, like some five picture deal for, you know, I think it was $15 million. And to us, that was like, I was set for life. So I wasn't. I was never like, I've never been. I've never been competitive. I've never been, oh, I gotta try to outdo what they did. All I wanted to do when I started doing comedy, I knew I was gonna be famous, but all I wanted to do creatively was meet Richard Pryor and be funny. When I was on a fucking plane coming from Georgia, Richard Pryor was on the plane. That's when I first met him. And I gave him my cassette of my first album. And I sat like two, three rows on the other side. And I was watching the back of his head. And he was laughing. He was laughing at my stuff. And that was. I could have died right there. You could have crashed the plane right there. I'd have been like, that was to make Richard laugh. I made Richard laugh for real. You don't see Richard laugh a lot. Think about it. You never see Richard's real laugh. And it was Richard Pryor on the plane laughing. He laughed like this. That's a Richard Pryor laugh. When he'd really fun.

[David Marchese]

But then he gave you a hard time later on.

[Eddie Murphy]

No, he didn't.

[David Marchese]

Richard Pryor.

[Eddie Murphy]

When did. Richard Pryor gave me a hard time. Bill Cosby gave me a hard time.

[David Marchese]

Oh, I thought Richard Pryor kind of gave you some attitude because he was competitive. But what Bill Cosby gave you a hard time about, about being about language.

[Eddie Murphy]

And all that shit and all that stuff. Richard Pryor. Richard Pryor was always, that's a myth. Because I've heard people say before that Eddie And Richard Pryor didn't get along. Not at all. Richard Pryor was. He didn't become like a mentor or anybody, but he was my idol that idolized him. My idols were Richard Pryor, Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and Elvis Presley. And I met Richard Pryor and Muhammad Ali, and they were wonderful to me. When we landed from that flight from Atlanta, Richard was like, which way you going? I was like, I'm going. He said, oh. He drove me home, drove me home to the place I was staying. And he was always cool with me. But Richard is old enough to be my dad. And Richard had substance problems and alcohol. He had all these demons and stuff. And we had nothing in common outside of the fact that we were both funny.

[David Marchese]

The craziest thing about Bill Cosby giving you a hard time about language.

[Eddie Murphy]

Language was a way that he could come at it. It wasn't so much langu. It was the times that we were in. This is back when it was, you know, one black person at a time was getting in the mix. So when I come on the scene, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby are like, oh, this is the new shit that's coming, or this is the new. So if it's some new thing coming on, that's a threat to whatever their thing is. So that's what Bill Cosby had. Richard Pryor could look at me and see I was, oh, well, he's my reflection. That kid is trying to be like me. So he wasn't threatened. You know, Bill Cosby was like, is this the new way it's gonna be now? They gonna be on stage grabbing their dick and talking crazy and all that so he could come at me with all the language. But it was more, you know, it's one at a time and is this the new guy? And knock me out the spot. That's what was going on back then. So they were competitive in that respect. I wasn't even thinking about them like that. I was puppy dogging both of them when I met them.

[David Marchese]

Did you ever see a performer, an artist, afterwards that made you think, whoa, this is like, I have to wrap my head around this a little bit.

[Eddie Murphy]

What do you mean?

[David Marchese]

In the same way that, like, you just described Cosby and Pryor being like, oh, Eddie Murphy's the new stuff. We have to, like, reckon with that. Was there ever anybody that you saw that made you feel like, huh, I gotta understand what this person's doing?

[Eddie Murphy]

Oh, you mean like someone that came after me that went to the next level? And I was like, oh, no, Never? No, I haven't seen that. And there's a lot of people that I think are funny and all that, but I haven't witnessed the next level, the ceiling of the whole art form, stand up comedy. That's Richard. And the ceiling for movies and stuff for me is Chaplin. And I haven't seen anyone come along that was better than Chaplin.

[David Marchese]

What'd you take from him?

[Eddie Murphy]

I haven't taken anything from Chaplin. The only time I've ever tried to be like somebody on screen was Bruce Lee. People forget how big Bruce Lee was when I was a kid. To this day, I've never seen anyone make the audience have a reaction like Bruce Lee would do in Bruce Lee movies. We would go crazy. Bruce Lee is the only time I've been in a movie where they stopped the movie and the projectionist would come out and say, listen, y' all gotta shut up and sit down. Cause we can't show the movie. They have to tell the audience to sit down and come. Bruce Lee would drive us crazy. And now to this day, when I pull a gun out, I'm doing a Bruce Lee impression. That whole intense does whatever faces I'm making and all that shit is all doing my Bruce Lee looks.

[David Marchese]

I always wondered if Elvis was secretly the influence behind some of the onstage stuff you wore when you were doing standup.

[Eddie Murphy]

Elvis had a huge influence on me. The leather suits and raw. I come out, I have a scarf, and I was rolling like Elvis, too. When we was on the road, I had a crew. And, you know, I didn't have the Memphis Mafia, but I had my little crew of dudes, the whole shit. And I used to dress the same way you see me dressed in delirious. And I used to really dress like that on the streets. I was totally on my Elvis trip. Then when I got older, it was like, oh, my God, Elvis wasn't cool at all. Elvis was going through some shit. Now Michael, that whole red jacket thing in Thriller after Delirious, when I had on the red suit and all that old shit. I'm not saying he was influenced, but I had on the red jacket before.

[David Marchese]

But you're not saying. But you know Elvis. You just mentioned Michael Jackson. You know, these guys who really achieve, like, the apex of fame, you know, Prince is another guy like that. I think there really was a period where, like, it felt like you were entering that level of, like, phenomenon status, not just a star, like the biggest kind of star.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, I went through all of that.

[David Marchese]

And you know, those guys I just mentioned, they all Kind of came to tragic ends. And you realize, like, fame can't solve anyone's problems, but it can really cause problems, you know? Do you feel like you understand the pressures that present themselves to people at that level of fame that leads to their lives getting so kind of warped in a way? Do you feel like you have a perspective on that?

[Eddie Murphy]

Well, I. Those guys are all cautionary tales for me. I don't drink. I smoked a joint for the first time when I was 30 years old. But that's the extent of drugs. Some weed. I remember I was 19, I went to the blues bar. It was me, Belushi and Robin Williams to coke out, start doing coke. And I was like, oh, no, I'm cool.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

And.

[Eddie Murphy]

And every now and then over the years, I would trip about that moment because I was really young and it was been so easy to try some coke. I wasn't taking some moral stance, but I just wasn't interested in it. And to not have the desire or the curiosity of it that say, that's providence. God was looking over me in that moment where I didn't make a left turn. And just everything would have been different. So it's really. When you get famous, really young, especially a black artist, I liken it to. It's like living in a minefield at any moment you can step on a mine. At any moment, something could happen that can undo everything. But I was oblivious to the fact that I was in a minefield. You ever see Apocalypse Now?

[David Marchese]

Of course.

[Eddie Murphy]

I remember the Robert Duvall character and bombs are dropping next to him and he didn't see it. That's what my life was like. It was like, all of this stuff is going on, bomb and totally oblivious. It's like walking through a minefield and not even realizing you were in one. And now this age, I can look back and be like, wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years in it. And even. Well, how do you make it through a minefield for 35, 40 years? Something has to be looking over you.

[David Marchese]

Why did you say especially for black artists? What do you see as the difference there?

[Eddie Murphy]

First of all, this business, it's not set up for a black artist. You know, it was a new thing when I. It was like, okay, a black artist is usually the sidekick, you know, the black artist as the leading man. And it's in a big movie that's watched all around the world who was like, I'm doing this stuff that no one's ever done, and it's in a business that's not set up for me. It's set up for some white dude to be in. So you don't have people watching your back, and you don't have support groups, and you don't have any of that shit. You just kind of in it. You don't have anybody you can go to and say, hey, what about this? Well, you don't have any of that, so you kind of was just in it.

[David Marchese]

And. But what were the bombs?

[Eddie Murphy]

Just everything. Imagine. Just imagine being a young person and having the world placed at your feet. Nobody's saying no, and everybody wants to be around you. You try all types of shit and get caught up in all kinds of stuff. That's what destroys people.

[David Marchese]

Yeah. Wait, you tried pot for the first time when you were 30?

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, I was 30 years old. I was in this recording studio, and everybody had left, and it was some. Everybody used to smoke all the time. It was a joint there. And I was like, well, a friend of mine, David, and his wife Donna, were there, and I was like, let me see with all this. And I took a hit on a joint and I said, okay. And they were some Jelly Belly jelly beans, those gourmet jelly beans. And I remember taking the jelly beans and eating one and trying to guess with my eyes closed which flavor it was. And we were just screaming with laughter and was like, oh, now I see. Now I get it as all of that shit. So it was. It was. It was cool in the beginning.

[David Marchese]

This is so sort of a.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

A.

[David Marchese]

A random question, but, you know, I just rewatched Bowfinger, which is the Holly, you know, the Hollywood satire you made late 90s, which, for my money, is your best performance in a movie and better than.

[Eddie Murphy]

Better than Nutty Professor.

[David Marchese]

Well, I like Bowfinger more.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, See, but for me, there's no comparison. But I like Bowfinger. But Nutty professor, the mother and that stuff is real. Those makeups that Rick Baker did, they turn you into another person? There's no sign of me. I could walk in a room and person wouldn't even know it was me. I think that's my best acting. But let's put it this way. I like Bowfinger, but I could think of 20 other actors that could have played that role. I can't think of another person that could do Nutty Professor.

[David Marchese]

Oh, but Bowfinger, you do the multiple roles, too. Not quite the same.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah.

[David Marchese]

But not quite the same.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yeah, but a lot of people could do that.

[David Marchese]

But the question I had about it was, you know, it's to do with the idea of the challenge of the material, where I thought watching Bowfinger, you know, you're doing the nerdy character, then you're doing the actor, action film character, and you're playing opposite Steve Martin. And it just seemed like that role was probably, you know, it presented a particular challenge. And Nutty professor, too. What you just described, having to inhabit all these different characters.

[Eddie Murphy]

When you say challenge, what do you mean, challenge?

[David Marchese]

Like both the challenge of playing the different roles and playing them credibly and the tonal challenge of doing the comedy, that it's also sort of a pretty dark satire in some ways. And then also, I imagine, just the sort of the competitive challenge of then acting opposite another sort of comedy legend like Steve Martin. But then, you know, the challenges go ahead.

[Eddie Murphy]

I don't gravitate towards things that I think would be challenging.

[David Marchese]

This is my question.

[Eddie Murphy]

Yes, I don't think if something feels challenging, I'm like, oh, I want to do something that I know works and something that I know I could be funny doing. And something like working with Steve Martin, that's somebody that you admire and think is funny. That's not challenging. That's exciting to get to work with Steve Martin. Anytime I'm working with somebody that I really, really like, it's not challenging.

[David Marchese]

Why are you more interested in the thing that you know is gonna work?

[Eddie Murphy]

Because, first and foremost, I'm trying to, you know, be funny for my audience. You know, so you want to do stuff that you know is going to be funny for them. I still do all different types of things. Even though, you know, I don't want to be challenged. I still do all types of things. I've done all types of things. You even thought that some of them was challenging. I'm like, it wasn't challenging. What's challenging is when you're in a movie and the movie ain't shit, that's challenging. That's challenging. When you're sitting in the screening room and you see the first print of Pluto Nash, that's challenging. I remember the first time we watched Pluto Nash. I had my son Miles with me. He was probably about eight and just a director. My lawyer's sitting there and Miles is sitting there with me, and the whole movie goes. And the movie's all soft and shit. Then at the end, you have the very last music Sting and right. It all goes silent. And my little baby son says, corny.

[Wesley]

Corny.

[Eddie Murphy]

And that was challenging. You're a little baby. Even the baby knows it's corny. We were just watching the other day we were just watching the new Beverly Hills Cop movie, and we're all watching it. One of my kids, while he's watching it, you know, so the first time he's watching, he's on his phone looking at shit. He ain't barely paying it no mind. You have to ask him if he liked the movie. I was like, well, I ain't even watching this shit. He was doing some kind of math equation, too. He stopped watching the movie. He was like, 6 times 27. I was like, wow, he's doing math during the movie. I actually told him, hey, son, don't do math right now. Watch the movie.

[David Marchese]

So I just saw Axl F. A couple days ago. You know, it's coming out 40 years after the first Beverly Hills Cop movie. What made you want to go back to that franchise? Now?

[Eddie Murphy]

We've been trying to develop another Beverly hills cop since 96, the one we did in 94. I didn't think the movie came out good. There's been 10 different scripts and a bunch of different producers, and we just tried for years and years, and it just wouldn't come together till we got Jerry back involved. The original producer, Jerry Bruckheimer. Jerry Bruckheimer, yeah.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

And.

[Eddie Murphy]

And Jerry, you know, he understood it the most. Cause it's his movie, and it all came together.

[David Marchese]

Why was it so hard to figure out what the next Axel Foley movie should be?

[Eddie Murphy]

Well, if you look at the third Beverly Hills Cop, it just didn't have the emotional hook that the other ones have. Axl has to be fueled by one of his friends or somebody close to him is in danger or died or something. That's what's fueling the first two movies. The movie needs a great villain, and that's what Jerry brought all the elements back to it. It was his recipe. Because Beverly Hills Cop, you know, this whole action comedy genre kind of starts with Beverly Hills Cop. Before Beverly Hills Cop, Cops were really serious, you know, dirty hair, go ahead and make my day. It was no comedy with the cops. Beverly Hills Cop kind of pioneered that. Then all those movies that came out afterwards, you know, Lethal Weapon and Die Hard and all those movies, all the cops then are being funny and having one liners and, you know, yippee ki yay, motherfucker, and all that stuff, that kind of starts after Beverly Hills Cop.

[David Marchese]

But, you know, what you were saying about how it just took so long for the right elements to come together for the new film, and also how Beverly Hills Cop 3 didn't really work. It sort of is reminding me I Was just reading this book that Steve Martin did, and he said he basically doesn't want to make movies anymore. He made 40 movies, and he had to make 40 movies to get five good ones. And he kind of just didn't, you know, sort of lost his juice for it. Does that sort of resonate for you? Like, it actually is really hard to.

[Eddie Murphy]

Make things more good. Yeah. But I have more than five good ones, though. I feel like I have maybe five or six bad ones. You know, Pluto Nash and Pluto Nash might be the only shitty movie. I have a couple of movies that are soft movies. That's like, okay, this movie is just okay. But it's not something that you're gonna go see over and over again. It's just, ah, but no flops. I used to call movies flop. Oh, this movie's a flop. That movie's a flop. I'm like, there's no such thing as flop. I remember. Cause I've been in this business long enough to know that when I got in this business, there was no black Hollywood and there was just a handful of black people that were working in films. And just to get in a movie is an accomplishment.

[David Marchese]

And you feel like you still have the. The joy has never diminished or the pleasure in the actual process of making the stuff.

[Eddie Murphy]

I never feel joy. There never was joy in the process of making a movie. The process of making a movie, it's work. You have to get up early in the morning, and then the actual being in a scene that's like a small part of the day. I love that when we on the set and we trying to make it work, and it's coming. You feel it clicking. I love that. But hurry up and wait. That's the movie business. And it is not fun. There's joy when the movie is finished and the movie worked. Then it's joy as far as the process goes. And I never lose sight of the fact that there's no flops. Because this is a blessing. Just to be able to do this for a living is a blessing.

[David Marchese]

You referred to the term providence earlier in the conversation. And also when we were talking about sort of avoiding the bombs, you said, somebody's looking out for me. Do you ever wonder why you.

[Eddie Murphy]

You know, I asked that question, question to Richard Pryor when I first met him in the car, and he said, you can't think like that, Eddie. He said, look at that bum over there. Was a bum walking down the street. He said, he's wondering why him. And it's like, yeah, you can't think like that, just being here, you know, the chances of being born, 1 in 400 trillion. Then when you add nuance to it and all, you know, meet somebody and where you wind up working and what you wind up doing and what doing are you? You win the lottery. All the stuff that you add to it, you know, what my life has become and the life that I've had on paper wouldn't even happen. So I can't question and have to go. This is all the way it's supposed to be.

[David Marchese]

After the break, I give Eddie a call back for some more stories about Hollywood and why his early days there weren't always easy.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I was the only one out there. I'm this young, rich, black one. Everybody wasn't happy about that in 1983, even black folks.

[David Marchese]

Hey, it's Vaughn Vreeland from New York Times Cooking.

[Wesley]

Colder weather is here, and I'm no.

[David Marchese]

Meteorologist, but I think the forecast says you should bake with us. Almost any cake can be turned into.

[Eddie Murphy]

A one mole cake. It's like a croissant, but, like, even more crunch and flake.

[David Marchese]

Oh, my God.

[Eddie Murphy]

I could eat 5 billion of these.

[David Marchese]

That is a brownie. They look so chocolatey and delicious.

[Eddie Murphy]

Don't be afraid.

[David Marchese]

This is so forgiving. These are deluxe cookies. Do you guys wanna try this bake.

[Narrator/Announcer]

With New York Times cooking this season? Find all the [e-mail] subscribe now for a limited time offer.

[David Marchese]

Hi, Eddie.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Hey, what's up, man?

[David Marchese]

You sound mellow.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I'm a mellow guy.

[David Marchese]

All right, good, good. You know, I want to ask you this. So, you know, I think I first got in touch with your publicist about trying to interview you four years ago during the pandemic. And I think we got close and then it fell apart because we couldn't figure out how to do the photo. And then this past February, I got in touch and he's like, yeah, it might work out this time. When he finally wrote me back and said, okay, Eddie is up for this, and then he put in quotation marks, which I assume meant it came from you. As long as there are no cheap shots. And I was thinking, what kind of cheap shot would you be worried about?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Well, I wasn't worried about anything. I say that before I do any interview. No cheap shots. It's kind of a tongue in cheek thing that I say.

[David Marchese]

Do you feel like you've taken a lot of cheap shots from the press over the years?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Oh, wow. Back in the old days, they used to be relentless on me. And a lot of it was racist stuff. You know, it was a whole different. There was no black Hollywood. There was no rappers, and there was no hip hop. It was the 80s, and it was, you know, just a whole different world.

[David Marchese]

Can you remember any examples? In what way was it racist?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Just think about it. It was the. You know, Ronald Reagan was the president, and it was that America. You would do interviews and be like, I didn't say that. I don't talk that way. They would be writing it in this weird ghetto. I don't know what it. I used to have really weird shit that would go on. Then I got really popular, and then there was this negative backlash that comes with it. It's like I was the only one out there. It was like, I'm this young, rich, black one. Yeah, Everybody wasn't happy about that. In 1983, even black folks, you get cheap shots from your people.

[David Marchese]

Did it hurt?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

You know, I remember when Nutty professor came out. And this shows you how. It's not even that long ago I got a cheap shot for my people. And for the most part, everybody loves Nutty Professor. But when it came out, I remember Ebony magazine, instead of talking about the movie and my performance and all that thing, they said, maybe there'll come a day when a black man can play a professor and he doesn't have to be nutty. I was like, what the fuck? That's the review of my movie. That's the review of that. I play all these different characters, and that's what you say about me. And it's us and it's me. Yeah. That hurt my feelings. That hurt my feelings. Like, you know, when David Spade said that shit about my career on snl, it was like, yo, it's in house. I'm one of the family. And you fucking with me like that. It hurt my feelings like that. Yeah, yeah.

[David Marchese]

I'm trying to remember. He made some comment about a couple of movies of yours flopped or something like that. And then.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

No, no one movie. No, no, no, no, no, no. Vampire in Brooklyn came out and it was. And that had flopped. He showed a picture of me up on the news, and he said, hey, everybody, catch a falling star. And it was like, wait, hold on, hold on now. This is Saturday Night Live. I'm the biggest thing that ever came off that show. The show would have been off the air if I didn't go back on the show. And now you got somebody from the cast making a crack about my career. And I know that he can't just Say that a joke has to go through these channels. So the producers thought it was okay to say that. And you've never. All the people that had been on that show, you never heard nobody make no joke about anybody's career. And most people that get off that show, you know, they don't go on to have these amazing careers, you know. So I took it. It was personal. Was like, yo, how could you do that? What? Ah, my career. Really? A joke about my career. So, yeah, I thought that was, you know, that was a cheap shot and it was kind of racist. I thought. I felt it was racist.

[David Marchese]

And then you stayed away from the show for a long time after that.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Thirty years or some shit. In the long run, it's all good. Worked out great. I'm cool with David Spade, cool with Lorne Michaels. I went back to snl. I'm cool with everybody. It's all love. But I had a couple of cheap shots.

[David Marchese]

You know. One thing I wanted to ask you when we were discussing sort of how you think about your relationship with your audience, and you said that you kind of just approach it from the perspective of you're going to make what you think is good and what you think is funny, and hopefully the audience likes it. And you also said that you don't really think about work in terms of seeking out challenges. You're looking to do the projects that you're confident will succeed. And I'm wondering if you can help me understand that a little bit more.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Because it feels, let's say, succeed or work.

[David Marchese]

Well, I think the word you used was stuff that will work.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Marchese]

But don't you have to think about the audience's needs in order to have a sense if something is going to work or not?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

How could you think about the audience's needs? 8 billion people on the planet and no two people are having the same experience. And they don't know. The audience doesn't. That's a better way of putting it. The audience has no clue what's funny. You gotta show them what's funny. They don't know. And if something is funny to me, I've never, ever, ever had anything that made me laugh that when I said it to an audience, the audience just sat there and looked at me. If I think it's funny, if I get that little feeling like it's silly, little feeling like this is funny. It's always funny.

[David Marchese]

So why can't you get soul, Soul, Soulmate. Then you obviously think it's funny. Probably other people will think it's Funny.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I've almost made Soul, Soul, Soul a bunch of times. But I'll get right up to it and then I'll be like, this is too self indulgent. Nobody's gonna go see this. Put a whole lot of work into it. 10 people be laughing real hard. Then I'll have some other movie that come up and I will go do it. That's the way it's been going for 30 years almost. I just recently had that experience with Donald Glover. I showed him that little clip, the soul, soul, soul thing, and he was like, yo, you gotta make this movie. How do we make this movie? And I was like, hey, yeah, he could figure out a way. And I don't know, but he was like, how do I. He wanted to do it.

[David Marchese]

How many people have seen that trailer?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Not a lot of people. It's like an inside thing.

[David Marchese]

I'm privileged. I think it's very telling though. Like, surely you of all comedians and comic entertainers have earned the right to make a self indulgent project. Why not just do it?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Because it's so much. It's so much work. That's what's been the deterrent. It's like, wow, you gotta come up with all of this stuff and shoot all of this stuff and do all this. A lot of work. It's like doing a Nutty professor movie. You gotta go get all of these famous people. A lot of. A lot of the people that I wanted to get in that passed away over the years. We want to get anybody that's alive that was a soul artist. You got to get them in it. You got any old rockers, you got to get all of them in it to make it seem like this Murray is a real guy. Just a lot, a lot of work. But I tell you, one day I'm going to do it one day.

[David Marchese]

You also described an ideal day for you, and you said that an ideal day is a day where you basically do nothing. You said you don't really read newspapers, you kind of just like to hang out at home, play music and stuff. But you're obviously an intellectually curious guy. You're a sensitive artist who observes and feels things deeply. What is interesting to you in the wider world? I don't know, science, climate change, politics. Are you interested in any of that stuff?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Oh, no. You know, I'll turn on cnn. I have like, you know, a week where I'll get up on everything, then I'll turn it off. I'd watch. Get totally detached from it. If you watch that shit Every day you go fucking crazy. You go crazy and you can't be in the moment. You can't be in the moment. You can't be in the present moment. When off in that shit, you off in the computer and you're off doing reading about all the other shit. I'm trying to be right here all the time. This moment, this is the only moment that's real.

[David Marchese]

Do you spend any time on the Internet other than reading news now and then?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

I don't go on the Internet. I'll go and watch YouTube. And I don't just go random on it. I'll ask like something specific, like, you know Peg Leg Bates. You know who Peg Leg Bates is?

[David Marchese]

No, who's Peg Leg Bates?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Oh, I'm glad you don't know. Go. You Peg Leg baits is. You ever heard the expression taking your lemons and turning them into lemonade?

[David Marchese]

Yeah, of course.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Peg leg baits is the personification of that. Peg Leg Bates is a one leg tap dancer from the 40s, I think, and he was. You just Google peg legs. You Google after you finish. You have people on the Ed Sullivan Show a lot of. But he's amazing, Eddie.

[David Marchese]

This is gonna date the interview a little. It'll be old news by the time this runs, but Trump was just found guilty in the hush money case. No.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Guilty.

[David Marchese]

Mm.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Wow. I did not see that. I did not think that was gonna happen all counts. And how about this? I don't think it's gonna affect the election at all.

[David Marchese]

You don't think so?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

No, this is some other shit we've never seen, but we've never seen anything like this. Some whole other thing. Wow, they found him guilty. That's crazy.

[David Marchese]

Do you have time for a couple more? You want to split or what?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Oh, no, I'm cool, man.

[David Marchese]

Oh, good. I appreciate it.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Fucking Trump.

[David Marchese]

Wait. Oh, here's a good one. There's an old interview that you did with Spike Lee in Spin magazine. I want to say from like early 90s, late 80s, something like that. And in there you say that you believed the government bugged your house at one point. Why did you believe that?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Well, we found a little microphone in my house, in my bedroom. Did I say the government? Somebody put a microphone in there. I don't know who.

[David Marchese]

Why would they have done that?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Who even knows? In the 80s, all they heard in my room was serious fucking going there. That's all they heard in my room. They would listen to the bug saying, God damn, you be doing some serious fucking.

[David Marchese]

Oh, boy. It's Hard to segue from that one.

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

If they had a bug in my room in the 80s, they hear no shit they could play over.

[Eddie Murphy]

All right.

[David Marchese]

Let me go here. I heard Kevin Hart tell a story on Howard Stern's show. He talked about a dinner that I think maybe Dave Chappelle organized. It was Kevin Hart, you, Chris Rock, Chris Tucker, Dave Chappelle. And in Kevin Hart's recollection of it, it's kind of this lovely moment where you're all sharing stories and, I guess, trading jokes, but really, it was kind of about sort of showing their respect for you. Do you remember that dinner?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Yeah, I remember it, but I don't remember being the focal point of that table.

[David Marchese]

Well, but he really put it in terms of you laid down the path for those other guys. And maybe it didn't feel like that's how that was kind of the vibe in the moment. But do you understand what you mean to comedians like Kevin Hart and Chappelle and Chris Rock and Chris Tucker?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Well, I didn't lay down a path. They took their own path. What happened with me was that the comic used to be, you know, the sidekick and the opening act, and I changed it to where, you know, the comic can be the main attraction. They thought of comics one way, and it was like, no, a comic could be this, and the comic could sell out the arena, and the comic could be in $100 million movies. It doesn't have to be, you know, a black exploitation movie. It could be a movie that's accessible to everyone, and all around the world, people would go see it. Black star.

[David Marchese]

And, you know, one of the other things that stuck with me from our first conversation was, you know, you described just the plain fact of getting to do what you do for a living as a blessing. And I was thinking about that sort of in the context of, you know, also how you said you knew you were going to be famous. You knew. You didn't think it, you knew it. And then also you got so successful and so famous so quickly that I think you had said you took the success a little bit for granted. I'm curious, when did you stop taking success for granted and start seeing your career and your life as a blessing?

[Eddie Murphy (interjecting or additional remarks)]

Wow. I think I knew it was a blessing from the beginning. I took how fast everything was moving for granted. Like, oh, I guess this happens for everybody. It happens like this. And I did say I was going to be. So this is what happens when you get famous. I took all of that for granted, but I was never like, oh, yeah, I'M the shit. This just happened to me. I always felt like it was a blessing. There's no higher blessing. It would make people laugh. That's more than anything. That's more than making them dance and whatever, making them feel drama or whatever. You can make people laugh. That's the best shit ever. And to know and look around and see that all the good things that came in my life, that came to me all came from making somebody laugh, that's a beautiful feeling, man.

[David Marchese]

That's Eddie Murphy. This conversation was produced by Wyatt. It was edited by Annabelle Bacon. Mixing by Afim Shapiro and Corey Schreppel. Original music by Dan Powell and Marion Lozano. Photography by Philip Montgomery. Our senior booker is Priya Matthew and our senior producer is Seth Kelly. Our executive producer is Alison Benedict. Special thanks to Susan Vallett, Rory Walsh, Renan Borelli, Maddie Masiello, Jake Silverstein, Paula Schuman, and Sam Dolnick. If you like what you're hearing, follow or subscribe to the Interview wherever you get your podcasts. And to read or listen to any of our conversations, you can always go to nytimes.com theinterview and you can email us [e-mail] I'm David Marchese, and this is the interview from the New York Times.