Eddie Murphy Considering a Return to Stand-Up

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SNL 40: Eddie Murphy Returns To Saturday Night Live

Eddie Murphy recently sat down with Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter to record an episode of Feinberg’s podcast, Awards Chatter. Murphy was in studio to talk about his return to the big screen as the titular character of the film Mr. Church, a movie that’s getting a lot of buzz after its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in April.

While speaking with Feinberg, Murphy dropped a potential bombshell: He’s “really curious” about getting back into stand-up after a nearly thirty-year absence from the stage. Murphy was a massively successful comic whose two stand-up specials, Raw and Delirious, are still celebrated as some of the funniest comedy specials ever made. But right at the peak of his success on stage, Murphy stopped performing all together and began to focus on movies.

“I stopped doing stand-up because it stopped being fun,” Murphy told Feinberg. “It was like, ‘Maybe I’ll just take a little break from stand-up,’ and then the break just got longer.”

Murphy is much different from the twenty-something that was shocking audiences on stage in the late 80’s. He’s a 55-year-old father who’s now more commonly known for his roles in kid-friendly movies like The Nutty Professor and Shrek than the crass and in-your-face humor of Raw. As an older and more mature man, Murphy is seriously beginning to wonder what another shot at stand-up would be like for him.

“Honestly, now I really am curious about doing it again because it’s been so long, and so much has changed and I’m such a different person,” Murphy told Feinberg. “I’m curious as to what it would be like if I got onstage. But, if I do that, whoever comes to see it has to sit through a bunch of my shitty songs,” he joked.

Although he was criticized for being too uptight during his appearance on SNL’s 40th Anniversary Special, Murphy performed some short stand up last fall when he accepted his Mark Twain award at the Kennedy Center.

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Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.
Bill Tressler

Bill Tressler

Bill is a writer and comedy enthusiast from New York. An avid gamer and podcast fan, he strives to always toe the line between charming irreverence and grating honesty.