With a new documentary about his life making waves, Eddie Murphy is taking time to reflect on the highs ― and lows ― of his era-defining career.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter to promote “Being Eddie,” Murphy spoke about his once-tumultuous relationship with director John Landis, who appears in the documentary.
The two men were seemingly adversaries for some time, with one altercation allegedly becoming violent. However, Murphy said it’s all in the past.
“That heat that I had with John Landis 35, 40 years ago, that’s so long ago,” the actor and comedian explained. “I love John, and he directed two of the best movies of my career — ‘Trading Places’ and ‘Coming to America.’ For years, we’ve had no heat whatsoever.”
To emphasize his point, he added: “We even did a movie after that shit. John Landis directed ‘Beverly Hills Cop III.’ The movie sucked, but we were buddies after.”
Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy is the subject of a new documentary, “Being Eddie,” which hit Netflix on Nov. 12.
Christopher Polk via Getty Images
The beef between Landis and Murphy first became public knowledge after the two worked on “Coming to America,” released in 1988. At a press conference to promote the movie, Murphy reportedly told the crowd, “Vic Morrow has a better chance of working with Landis than I do.”
The reference to Morrow was particularly stinging. The actor was among three who were killed in a helicopter crash while on the set of “Twilight Zone: The Movie,” partially directed by Landis, in 1982.
Though Landis was found not guilty of manslaughter in connection with Morrow’s death, his reputation in Hollywood was heavily damaged. He was also said to have been upset with Murphy when the actor failed to make an appearance during the criminal trial.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 1989, Murphy said he’d asked Landis to direct “Coming to America” at a time when the filmmaker’s “career was hanging by a thread” in the wake of the “Twilight Zone” trial.
“I figured the guy was nice to me when I did ‘Trading Places,’ so I’d give him a shot,” he said at the time. “I’m a popular actor in this town, and to have a guy who was as fucked up as he was get a job with me gave him some renewed credibility.”
Director John Landis, left, with “Trading Places” stars Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd in 1983.
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection via Getty Images
Elsewhere in his Rolling Stone chat, Murphy blasted Landis for having “fucked me over,” though he offered no specifics as to what that entailed.
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“Now he’s got a hit picture on his résumé, a movie that made over $200 million, as opposed to him coming off a couple of fucked-up movies, which is where I’d rather see him be right now,” he said.
Landis, whose last film was the 2010 dark comedy “Burke & Hare,” is among many A-listers featured in “Being Eddie.” Dave Chappelle, Arsenio Hall, Jamie Foxx, Chris Rock and Tracee Ellis Ross also make appearances.
“The only time the audience usually sees me is if I’m promoting a movie, so they’re not really ever seeing me,” Murphy told Netflix’s Tudum of his interest in appearing in the doc. “They’re seeing my comic persona — doing my shtick. But in the documentary, this is me. This is my house, this is my family, and this is how I did it. For the first time, they’re getting a little peek at me.”