Eddie Murphy Regrets These Turning Down Three Major Movie Roles

Eddie Murphy has been looking back on his long film career, and he says there are a few choices he still thinks about. In an interview with The Associated Press, he explained that he once passed on several big movies, and today he sometimes wishes he had decided differently.

Murphy said he was originally supposed to be in Ghostbusters, Rush Hour and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

He explained it very simply, saying, “Yeah, there’s a couple of movies. ‘Ghostbusters,’ I was supposed to do ‘Ghostbusters.’ Didn’t do that. And ‘Rush Hour.’ Didn’t do that. Oh, and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit.’ Those are my big three ‘wish I would have done’ movies.”

He said the main reason these films stick in his mind is because they all became huge hits. The first Ghostbusters made over $243 million in the United States, and Rush Hour went on to get two sequels. Who Framed Roger Rabbit earned more than $156 million. Murphy said, “They were huge giant hits.”

Even so, he doesn’t feel the choices ruined anything for him. He explained that he turned down Ghostbusters because he chose to do Beverly Hills Cop instead, saying it was simply one or the other.

He also admitted that he passed on Who Framed Roger Rabbit because it sounded strange to him at the time, but later he realized how good it was. He said, “And, afterwards, I was like, ‘Oh that’s f***** amazing.’”

Murphy’s career continued strong anyway. He became known for roles in movies like The Nutty Professor and Dr. Dolittle, and he later earned an Oscar nomination for Dreamgirls in 2006.

Another one of his famous roles is Donkey in the Shrek movies. A fifth film is coming in 2027, with Cameron Diaz and Mike Myers returning and Zendaya joining the cast. Murphy joked about the recording process, saying, “You have a headache after a ‘Shrek’ session. The donkey has a lot of singing. You’re on 10, and you’re doing it over and over again.” He added that even though it’s a lot of work, the love from the fans makes it worth it.

Murphy also talked about how tough the industry can be. He said, “Nothing’s worse than working really hard on something and doing makeup and sweat and all this s**** and then you put it out, and they’d be like, ‘Two thumbs down.’” According to him, after all that effort, bad reviews are the last thing any actor wants.

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