Eddie Murphy Talks About Pondering a Stand Up Return, and Why He Didn’t Play Cosby on SNL40
In an interview with the Washington Post, Eddie Murphy talked about a slew of projects on his plate– none of which are not related to comedy. He’s been working on some movies including a drama and a biopic, and an album which is more music than comedy, which he compares to Sgt Pepper’s.
A return to stand up isn’t out of the question entirely, he told the Post, but he’s not sure how he would want to approach it. “Every now and then when I think about it, I think, ‘What would I even talk about onstage?’ It’s never been, ‘I wonder if I’m funny. I wonder if I can come up with jokes.’ It’s more, ‘What would it be like without the leather suit and the anger?’ ”
And unlike many comedians, Murphy said he doesn’t feel that need to get laughs in his life.
He also confirmed the biggest behind-the-scenes story from SNL40– that he allegedly refused to do his spot-on Cosby impression in his return to the show. Norm MacDonald had initially revealed that story, but Murphy finally acknowledged it in the interview.
Murphy said he turned down the impression because, “It’s horrible,” he says. “There’s nothing funny about it. If you get up there and you crack jokes about him, you’re just hurting people. You’re hurting him. You’re hurting his accusers. I was like, ‘Hey, I’m coming back to SNL for the anniversary, I’m not turning my moment on the show into this other thing.’”
Murphy acknowledged that the Cosby sketch Norm wrote was “hysterical,” so he can still laugh privately about it.
