Eddie Murphy has given a hearty thumbs-up to Kevin Bacon’s “great villain” role in the upcoming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.
The 63-year-old actor is back as the wisecracking detective Axel Foley in the latest movie of the action-comedy franchise and believes that Bacon’s antagonist, Captain Cade Grant, will bring back the glory days after the lackluster performance of Beverly Hills Cop III.
“He is the perfect villain. One of the things that makes Beverly Hills Cop work is the first two Beverly Hills Cops are really good, and the third one is a little soft. And it’s because we didn’t have a great villain,” Murphy said in an interview on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
“And now you’ve got this great villain in Kevin Bacon. I don’t know what it is about leading men who do villain roles, he’s got this great, great villain,” Murphy added.
Meanwhile, Murphy confessed that at 63, he’s not exactly in a hurry to do his own stunts anymore.
“I did Beverly Hills Cop when I was 21, and I’m 63 now. Now, I would rather not do any stunts. We were shooting something and the director said, ‘I want you to come out of this place and run down those steps.’ After we shot and he’s like, ‘Can you come down with more urgency? Faster?’ And I was like, ‘no’” he mused, recalling the days when he could.
Despite his many accolades as both an actor and comedian, Murphy admits that he’s still best known for his portrayal of Axel Foley, especially when he travels abroad.
“Beverly Hills Cop’ was my first movie that I’m the lead in. If I travel overseas they call me Axel Foley. Axel is an everyman. He’s not a superhero or a super-cop, he’s the everyman that rises to the occasion. I think that’s why people like it. And more than anything, he’s funny.” he said.
