Three decades later, Eddie Murphy still feels ‘idiot’ for turning down Roger Rabbit

“Every time I watch the film again, I feel stupid,” confides the Beverly Hills Cop actor.

On July 3, Eddie Murphy will come back in Beverly Hills Cop 4on Netflix, in an action film subtitled simply by the name of his cult character: Axel F. To wait until this highly anticipated streaming release, the actor participated in the Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallonthis week, and this appearance brought up a previous interview with the American actor, on this same set.

Four years ago, Eddie Murphy revealed that he bitterly regretted having refused a role during his career: that of Eddie Valiant in Who wants Roger Rabbit’s skin?, by Robert Zemeckis. Before that, he had also said no to Yvan Reitman to play one of the Ghostbusters of Ghostbusters.

“Finally, to refuse… It’s not really that I refused: it was to Beverly Hills Copso I couldn’t sign for both films, did he justify. I just wasn’t available (For Ghostbusters) because I was already committed to this other project… In fact, the only film that I refused in my life and which became a huge success was Who wants Roger Rabbit’s skin?. I was supposed to play Bob Hoskins’ character, but at the time it seemed crazy! I said (he takes on a mocking voice) : ‘What ? Animated characters who rub shoulders with humans?’ Since then, every time I see him again, I feel stupid. I was stupid.”

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In 1988, the year of release of Roger RabbitEddie Murphy was already a star thanks to the successive successes of 48 Hours, An Armchair for Two, Beverly Hills Coptherefore (and its direct sequel released in 1987), and A prince in New Yorkon American screens on June 29 that year, barely a week after the adventure of the investigator and the rabbit madly in love with Jessica Rabbit.

At the box office, it was this family comedy that was the most successful, becoming the biggest hit of the year with $238 million in revenue. But the John Landis film starring Eddie Murphy didn’t do badly either: A Prince in New York was in the top 3, just after Roger Rabbit And Rain Manwith 128 million greenbacks pocketed around the world throughout the summer.

Here is the trailer for the new Beverly Hills Copto be seen soon on Netflix:

When Bob Hoskins told us about the creation of Roger Rabbit