“We didn’t wanna screw the scene”: Eddie Murphy’s Impeccable Comic Timing on Beverly Hills Cop 1 Forced One Co-star to Self-inflict Pain to Avoid Laughing
Actor Eddie Murphy, who rose to fame by appearing on Saturday Night Live, is now gearing up to appear as Axel Foley again in the fourth installment of Beverly Hills Cop. The actor first appeared as a street-smart Detroit detective in 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, directed by Martin Brest. The buddy-cop action comedy film helped Murphy cement his place as a leading man in the movies.
Beverly Hills Cop, upon its release, was very well received by the audience and the critics, making it one of the highest-grossing movies of 1984. The movie’s success and popularity made Axel Foley one of Murphy’s signature roles, and soon he became one of the fan’s favorite characters. In a recent interview, Murphy’s co-star spoke about his impeccable comic timing.
Judge Reinhold and John Ashton recalls working on Beverly Hills Cop with Eddie Murphy
Before the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, actors Judge Reinhold and John Ashton, who reprised their characters as Detective William Rosewood and Sergeant John Taggart, spoke to ETalk and recalled working with Eddie Murphy on the 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop. Ashton and Reinhold went on to explain
You know on the first one, that whole super cop thing, and these guys should have capes, and that was all ad-lib stuffed, but yeah, he [Murphy] said, Give me a minute, I want to come in, so he came in and started doing that, and uh, and it was hard to keep when we heard it before. We didn’t know what he was going to say, so John went like this, and I put my hands in my pockets and squeezed my thigh so hard that the pain would overtake the laughter, and that’s how we dealt with it.
Ashton further added:
We didn’t want to screw the scene up because it was a three-shot. If we blew it, yeah, and then not only that, but I had the first line after that.
Murphy became a household name when he started to appear on Saturday Night Live, and his comic timing was always appreciated by the audience. Over the years, taking on roles that helped him perform at his full potential, he has grown to be one of the most loved and admired comedian-actors in the industry. Despite being excited and thrilled about the upcoming sequel, THR reported that Murphy had admitted to feeling different doing an action movie in his 60s, compared to when he was in his 20s. The actor said ‘I felt old’.
Kevin Bacon and Joseph Gordon-Levitt praise Eddie Murphy’s improvisational style
The original cast members were joined by two new additions: Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Detective Bobby Abbott and Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant for the fourth installment. In an interview with THR, Gordon-Levitt said,
The script was great, but he’s making stuff up all the time, and I love just throwing it back at him.
Bacon chimed in to add that he is not an improv-er; he is not a comic genius like Murphy, but he likes the fact that it keeps him on his toes when Murphy is relaxed and present. He added,
When you’re improving, if you’re a good improve-er, I think you have to listen, watch, and see what the other person is doing. I have to do that now because I know anything is going to come at me, so that’s cool, man. I like that.
Director Mark Molloy, in his interview with Tudum in 2023, also went ahead to praise the comedian-actor’s improvisational skills, adding that some of the funniest moments with respect to the character came when Murphy was improvising. He noted that for him, a big part of his job was to create the right environment and cast the right and appropriate people around Murphy’s character to allow him to do what he does best.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer added that Murphy is an incredible artist who can do drama, comedy, or anything. He noted that he’s the same Axel Foley, and he’s doing what he does best.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is set to premiere on Netflix on July 3, 2024.
