Eddie Murphy almost left Hollywood after being awarded the ‘Worst Actor of the Decade’ award in the Razzies. The Golden Raspberry Awards aka Razzies is one of the most talked about awards in Hollywood which is famous for all the wrong reasons. The Saturday Night Live fame has a reputation for coming under their radar with as many as 9 nominations along with 3 awards.
The repeated Razzies have affected Eddie Murphy largely and to the point where he even thought of leaving acting for once and forever. In a podcast, the Beverly Hills Cop actor stated that his hiatus after the Razzie Worst Actor of the Decade award almost extended to a full retirement before he decided to return.
Eddie Murphy was about to retire from Hollywood
Eddie Murphy, who once starred in some of the most notable movies went missing from the entertainment world for a long time. It was after he received a Razzie for the Worst Actor of the Decade award in 2010.
Despite being accustomed to Razzies after winning three of them for movies like Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and Meet Dave, the 2010 Razzie was a major hit for the actor. It forced him to go on a hiatus for 6 years. When Eddie Murphy appeared in the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, he stated:
“I was making sh*tty movies. I was like, ‘This shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies…motherf**kers gave me the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie. [So I thought], ‘Maybe it’s time to take a break.’ 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 sh*t they see me do [to be] bulls*it.”
However, the legend didn’t give up and eventually made his return to Hollywood following the hiatus of 6 years with a series of hits. Eddie Murphy’s comeback even led him to win the only honorary “Redeemer” award in the Razzie slate.
Eddie Murphy’s career gives us a major comeback lesson
It must be remembered that setbacks are only a part and parcel of life. What matters most is to get over everything and Eddie Murphy’s career is evidence of the fact that comebacks are possible. Following the long hiatus, when Murphy came back with Dolemite Is My Name, the movie earned universal acclaim. Murphy said:
“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.”
The Shrek actor went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name which also led him to win the Razzie Redeemer Award in 2019. The success streak didn’t stop as his Coming 2 America, the sequel to his 1988’s Coming To America broke several viewership records for Amazon Prime.
Currently, a fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop film series is in development along with an untitled George Clinton biopic also in Eddie Murphy’s slate.
