If given the choice, would Eddie Murphy opt to do big-screen movies or stand-up comedy?
The 58-year-old comedian has hinted that his upcoming Netflix special could mark a regular return to live comedy as he feels he’s better suited to that than acting.
Speaking to WSJ Magazine, he said: “Once I get back onstage, I kind of feel like that’s what I was born to do more than anything.
“When I get back on the stage, I can’t imagine wanting to do movies again.”
The Beverly Hills Cop star — who has sons Eric, 30, Christian, 28, Miles, 26, and Max, 10 months, and daughters Bria, 29, Shayne, 25, Zola, 19, Bella, 17, Angel, 12, and Izzy 3 — also revealed working on films keeps him away from his family too much.
He added: “What I like to do more than anything is just be home with my family, chilling. It’s really easy to feel like you’re working when you make a movie.
“You’ve got to get up at 5, 6 in the morning. I started making movies when I was 20 years old when I made 48 Hrs. That’s f—ing 38 years. You’ve been on a movie set, you see how this s— is. It’s not a fun process.”
Murphy was, at the height of his career, one of the most sought-after stars in Hollywood, but he has consciously chosen to step back from the movie industry in recent years.
He recently explained: “I still am in the semi-retired state. For maybe five or six years, I was on the couch, just doing nothing, and not planning and not trying to get anything. I had things in development, but I just was doing nothing.”
And while he is still open to movie offers — provided the right opportunities present themselves — the star insisted his focus will likely be on his stand-up.
He explained: “I don’t want to say I’m retired like I won’t do anything. If some great thing comes along, or if some great thing happens, some great director or some great idea, of course, I’ll make other movies.
“Once I get my stand-up muscle back together, I’ll always do stand-up. I’ll always have this thing to go do, but I’m never going to be doing it like I used to be all the time.”
