Eddie Murphy has opened up about going on a hiatus from acting after winning the Razzies ‘Worst Actor of the Decade’ award in 2010.
For those not in the know, the Razzies A.K.A Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody awards show ceremony that, ah, celebrates the worst of cinema each year. Murphy was crowned the Worst Actor winner after several critically panned movies during the noughties, including Meet Dave and Norbit.
Speaking on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Murphy revealed that the Razzies win affected him to the point that he decided to take a break from acting.
“I was making shitty movies. I was like, ‘This shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies…motherfuckers gave me the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie… [so I thought], ‘Maybe it’s time to take a break,'” he said.
“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 to the last bunch of shit they see me do [to be] bullshit,” he added.
“The plan was to go do Dolemite [Is My Name], Saturday Night Live, Coming 2 America and then do stand-up and see how I felt afterwards. At least then they’ll know I’m [still] funny.”
It’s safe to say that the break appeared to do Murphy well, given that his role in 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name won him a Razzies ‘Redeemer Award’. On top of that, he was also nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical for the same film.
Love Film & TV?
Get the latest Film & TV news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
Murphy’s latest film Coming 2 America, the highly anticipated sequel to 1988’s Coming to America, is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
Check out Eddie Murphy discussing his acting hiatus with Marc Maron:
