The Golden Raspberry Awards is one of the most talked about awards in Hollywood and it is so for not some good reasons. And, renowned actor and comedian Eddie Murphy is on the list of being awarded The Golden Raspberry Awards aka Razzies, which compelled him to take a bold step in his career.
And this is the reason, Murphy almost took retirement from acting after receiving this award. He decided to take a break from acting and just focus on his comedy till he got a good role. Murphy has been nominated for a Razzie Award nine times, winning three times for his performances in Norbit, The Adventures of Pluto Nash, and Meet Dave. And in 2010, he won the Razzie for Worst Actor of the Decade.
Eddie Murphy Almost Quit Acting After Being Awarded the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie
Actor/comedian Eddie Murphy, who was one of the most recognizable and hilarious comedians in the 1980s stated that he decided to stop acting for several years. The Saturday Night Live fame said that getting the Razzie award multiple times made him think about quitting acting for once and forever.
When Eddie Murphy appeared in the WTF podcast with Marc Maron, he stated:
“I was making shitty movies,” Murphy said.
“I was like, ‘This shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies…Motherf*ckers gave me the ‘worst actor ever’ Razzie. [So I thought], ‘Maybe it’s time to take a break.’”
He continued:
“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.”
After nearly quitting acting for six years, Eddie Murphy made a return to Hollywood with the release of 2019’s Dolemite Is My Name.
Comebacks Are Possible, Proved Eddie Murphy
After his return with Dolemite Is My Name, The Razzies recognized his comeback, giving him the Redeemer Award in 2019. He also received a Golden Globe for the performance, and the film was nominated for Best Picture Musical or Comedy.
His comeback movie Dolemite Is My Name 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 success streak continued as his Coming 2 America, the sequel to his 1988’s Coming To America shattered many viewership records for Amazon Prime.
Currently, a fourth installment of the Beverly Hills Cop film series is in development, where he is set to play Axel Foley, along with an untitled George Clinton biopic also in Eddie Murphy’s slate.
