Over the last thirty years, Eddie Murphy has starred in a long list of beloved films. Best known for being one of the funniest human beings in the world, Murphy has proven time and time again that he is a truly hilarious human being. On top of that, even though Murphy’s comedic abilities are his main claim to fame, he has shown flashes of dramatic acting brilliance as well. For all of those reasons, most people have a pavlovian smile on their face when someone utters Murphy’s name.
Of course, at the end of the day, Eddie Murphy is a human being just like the rest of us so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he has done some shady things. For example, Murphy became embroiled in controversy after Eddie denied he was the father of Mel B’s daughter only for a paternity test to later confirm he was the father. Despite that incident, however, most Murphy fans will be extremely shocked to learn that one of Eddie's oldest collaborators once called the beloved actor a “pig”.
One Of Eddie Murphy’s Oldest Collaborators
When Eddie Murphy joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980, the show was in great transition and turmoil. For that reason, the show was in danger of being canceled which would have been a shame. Fortunately for SNL fans everywhere, Murphy was so funny during his tenure that he made loads of people tune in just to see him.
Once Eddie Murphy became a huge star due to his Saturday Night Live popularity, it was only a matter of time before he began starring in movies. After co-starring in 48 Hrs., Murphy went on to headline a film that made a huge profit and became one of the most popular ‘80s comedy films, Trading Places. As the man who directed Trading Places, John Landis developed a very strong relationship with Murphy. After making that film together, Murphy and Landis would reunite to work on Coming to America and Beverly Hills Cop III.
Eddie Murphy Grabbed John Landis By The Throat
After the filming of Coming To America, Eddie Murphy did an interview with Playboy. To say that Murphy’s comments about John Landis during the resulting conversation were explosive is a huge understatement.
During the Playboy interview, Eddie Murphy spoke about several incidents where he says John Landis talked crap behind his back during the making of Coming to America. According to Murphy, Landis warned Shari Headley, the actor who played Eddie’s love interest in the movie, to avoid being alone with the star. Murphy also claimed that Landis told Coming to America’s writers to demand money from the actor.
According to what Eddie Murphy told Playboy, things got so tense on Coming to America’s set following those incidents that Eddie Murphy grabbed John Landis by the throat. While Murphy said he grabbed Landis’ throat “playfully”, he stated that he squeezed Landis’ throat enough that the director couldn’t breathe. Murphy then went on to describe what Landis did after Eddie stopped squeezing his throat. “He fell down, his face turned red, his eyes watered up…and he ran off set.” Later, Murphy says Landis went to his trailer and they had a tense-sounding conversation.
“His voice was trembling, and it all came out: that he didn’t think I was talented, that the only reason he did Coming to America was for money, that he didn’t respect me since I hadn’t gone to his trial and all this bulls**t…called me ignorant, an a**hole…I’m sitting there shattered; I’m thinking, This f*****g guy. I bent over f*****g backwards to get this guy a job. He probably won’t even acknowledge what happened. He didn’t realize that his f*****g career was washed up.” Despite the dramatic things that Eddie Murphy said about working with John Landis, he later downplayed the drama while promoting the next movie the pair made together, Beverly Hills Cops III.
John Landis Called Eddie Murphy A “Pig”
Many years after John Landis and Eddie Murphy worked together for the last time to date, the director spoke to Collider in 2005. During that interview, John gave his own take on the reasons why things became so tense between the director and Murphy and Landis claimed it was all Eddie’s fault.
“On Coming to America, we clashed quite a bit because he was such a pig. He was so rude to people. I was like, 'J*sus Christ, Eddie! Who are you?' But I told him, 'You can’t be late. If you’re late again, I quit.' We had a good working relationship, but our personal relationship changed because he just felt that he was a superstar and that everyone had to kiss his a**. He was a jerk. But great – in fact, one of the greatest performances he’s ever given. The character he plays in Coming to America, [Akeem], is so opposite of what Eddie really was: a gentleman, charming and elegant, as opposed to this j**k-off. Someone, I think it was James Earl Jones, used to say that when Eddie came on set, 'It’s like an arctic wind.' [Laughs] I mean, he wouldn’t do his off-camera for people. It was bulls**t. But I still think he’s wonderful in the movie.”
