Eddie Murphy reveals why he left the Oscars early after losing for…
Eddie Murphy meant the Oscars no hurt.
The actor, 64, is setting the document straight on why he exited the 2007 Academy Awards early after being nominated for the first time for Best Supporting Actor.
Murphy performed James “Thunder” Early (Jimmy) in the 2006 musical “Dreamgirls” reverse Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé.
Eddie Murphy in a shot from “Dreamgirls.” ©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose in “Dreamgirls.” ©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
The comic was nominated alongside Alan Arkin for “Little Miss Sunshine,” Jackie Earle Haley in “Little Children,” Mark Wahlberg for “The Departed” and Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond”).
However, Arkin, who died in 2023 at age 89, took residence the win.
Hudson, 44, did score the award for Best Supporting Actress, however Murphy was lengthy passed by the time the actress accepted her trophy.
“What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder,” the “Haunted Mansion” star told Entertainment Weekly on Saturday. “Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, oh, no, no, I’m not gonna be this guy all night. Let’s just leave. I didn’t storm out. I was like, I’m not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.”
Murphy added that he knew Arkin would win, calling his position in the comedy drama “hysterically funny.”
“Jeff Katzenberg invited me over to see ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ six months before it came out in the theaters, and I literally watched the movie and I watched Alan — and I hadn’t been nominated or anything yet — and I watched the movie and I turned to Jeff afterwards and I said, ‘Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody’s Oscar,’” the “Coming to America” actor recounted. “I said those exact words. I was like, ‘He could steal somebody’s Oscar,’ then he stole mine.”
Eddie Murphy and Tracy Edmonds arrive at the 79th Academy Awards in 2007. Corbis by way of Getty Images
As Murphy clarified: “No, I don’t feel like he stole mine.”
The rise up is aware of, however, that “winning an Oscar is more art than science. It’s not like oh, you do this, and you do that, and you win the Oscar. No, it’s all this intangible stuff that comes with winning: campaigning and your past stuff and what do they owe you and s–t. All of that stuff comes into play when you get Oscars.”
Murphy couldn’t assist however gush over Arkin one last time, telling the outlet: “When you add all of that stuff into it, he totally deserves his Oscar for his whole career. He’s an amazing actor.”
Alan Arkin poses in the press room during the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Getty Images
Alan Arkin accepts the award for Best Supporting Actor during the 79th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre on February 25, 2007. Getty Images
In the star’s new documentary, “Being Eddie,” Murphy received candid on the draw back of losing an award.
“The mindf–k for me is that I get dressed and come to the thing, ’cause I would usually not go to award shows,” he expressed. “Whenever I lose, I’m like, ‘These motherf–kers made me come all the way down. I could have f–king lost at home. I’m all in the f–king tuxedo. What a waste of time.”
Meanwhile, in August, Murphy defended his 2007 critically-panned rom-com “Norbit,” which many believed prompted him to lose the “Dreamgirls” Oscar.
Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine.” ©Fox Searchlight/Courtesy Everett Collection
“I love ‘Norbit,’” he told Complex at the time. “‘Norbit’ came out right after I got that Oscar nomination. There were articles like, ‘How can he get an Oscar, he did this?’ They’re two different movies.”
“I wrote ‘Norbit’ with my brother, Charlie, and we think ‘Norbit’ is funny,” continued Murphy. “Here’s the thing with ‘Norbit,’ it came out and they gave me a Razzie Awards for worst actress, worst actor and worst actor of the decade. And I was like, ‘Come on now, sh-t ain’t that bad.’”
In the film, the “Shrek” vet performs a number of roles including an overweight spouse named Rasputia.
One week before “Norbit” got here out, Murphy obtained his first Oscar nomination.
“I wrote ‘Norbit’ with my brother, Charlie, and we think ‘Norbit’ is funny,” Murphy said of the critically panned film co-starring Terry Crews. ©DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
He went on to win at the Golden Globes and SAG Awards during that award season, however the alleged “Norbit effect” got here proper before he misplaced the Academy Award.
As Murphy put it: “I like ‘Norbit.’ To this day, I like ‘Norbit.’ There’s stuff in ‘Norbit’ that makes me laugh.”
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