Coming 2 America star Eddie Murphy has the full support of his director. Craig Brewer wants audiences to know that they shouldn’t take the comedian for granted. The filmmaker talked to CinemaBlend about the way that his star is considered in popular media. A lot of comedians get separated from their more “serious” peers when people discuss actors. Brewer would like audiences to see Murphy in a new light. Yes, he can deliver some deliriously silly parts, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not skilled at his craft. Fans will remember him putting on a clinic during Saturday Night Live in 2019. It was amazing to see how much mastery he still had for that format. The director thinks that just because he’s naturally a funny man, that doesn’t mean that people should just push aside Murphy’s accomplishments. Check out what he had to say down below:
“It really bothers me. And I feel that it’s even more stilted against Eddie because the problem that I think people have with Eddie is that they think that it’s easy for him,” Brewer explained. “I’m sure there are many things in Eddie’s life that feel easy. But what people don’t know is what I see, which is him sitting in his chair, in makeup, he’s putting on music, he’s getting into a place, he’s rehearsing these lines — you see him where he doesn’t fool around on set.”
He continued, “When you’re in between takes, he goes to his chair and you see him get into this trance where he is working and working and working. There’s craft there. And I worry that people think that like, ‘Oh, well, Eddie’s just showing up and being funny, like he’s always done.’ And that’s just not true. Yes, he’s showing up and being hilarious, but it’s not like he’s just flipping a switch.”
It actually took a long time for the sequel to get made. Murphy told Extra why that is, and how it all came together.
“We never planned on making a sequel to the movie,” Murphy told the outlet. “We had done the movie and it was in the past. But the movie stayed around. Of all the movies that I’ve done over the last 40 years, Coming to America is the only one that … has a cult following,” Murphy continued. “… And then, maybe around six, five years ago, I got an idea. Then it took four years for it to come together.”
Do you agree with the director? Let us know in the comments!