Eddie Murphy reveals 'big three' movies he most regrets turning down
- - Eddie Murphy reveals 'big three' movies he most regrets turning down
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYNovember 23, 2025 at 10:36 PM
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Eddie Murphy almost faced off against Slimer and Judge Doom.
During a recent interview with The , the comedian, 64, named the three movies he most regrets turning down during his career: "Ghostbusters," "Rush Hour" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit.' "
"Those are my big three 'wish I would have done' movies," he said.
When asked why he regretted not being in those three films specifically, Murphy quipped, "Well, they were huge, giant hits."
The "Coming to America" star explained he had to choose between starring in "Ghostbusters" and "Beverly Hills Cop," one of the biggest hits of his career, so it "worked out cool."
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Eddie Murphy attends the Los Angeles premiere of "Being Eddie" on Nov. 12, 2025, in Hollywood.
"Beverly Hills Cop," the action comedy starring Murphy as Detective Axel Foley, was the highest-grossing movie of 1984 in North America and spawned a series of sequels, most recently "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" in 2024.
Murphy also noted he turned down "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" because it "just sounded ridiculous to me," but he later regretted it after seeing how "amazing" the movie was. The 1988 comedy that blended cartoon characters with live action actors was one of the biggest blockbusters of that year, and it won the Oscars for sound editing, film editing and visual effects.
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the debut of Netflix's "Being Eddie" during the premiere on Nov. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. The new documentary film on the comedy legend's life is available to stream on Netflix.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Eddie Murphy's friends and family helped celebrate the debut of Netflix's "Being Eddie" during the premiere on Nov. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. The new documentary film on the comedy legend's life is available to stream on Netflix.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1QryVdQ.S.2Kkj0VjCzOdw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/31ef0aaa0d8066c0bd56edcb22873a81 class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Eddie Murphy's friends and family helped celebrate the debut of Netflix's "Being Eddie" during the premiere on Nov. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. The new documentary film on the comedy legend's life is available to stream on Netflix.
">Eddie Murphy's friends and family helped celebrate the debut of Netflix's "Being Eddie" during the premiere on Nov. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. The new documentary film on the comedy legend's life is available to stream on Netflix.
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Christian Murphy and Eddie Murphy
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/qOhIyy4X2OFWlWfg6CBlHA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/5633ae9893c56b5fed33a82a8510318c class=caas-img>Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
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Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
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" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/A13osaGk_kx6YeuLMVusWA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/67b80cc4a642bc935dcbf742824c1e97 class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Eddie Murphy, Tracee Ellis Ross and Martin Lawrence
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/A13osaGk_kx6YeuLMVusWA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/67b80cc4a642bc935dcbf742824c1e97 class=caas-img>Miles Mitchell Murphy, Christian Murphy, Eric Murphy, Paige Butcher, Eddie Murphy, Bella Murphy, Shayne Audra Murphy, Zola Ivy Murphy and Bria Murphy Xavier
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/J0X2VvxkhQlRrKXZo.3LkA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/c374710f81e2ac09f09af39461f8c590 class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Miles Mitchell Murphy, Christian Murphy, Eric Murphy, Paige Butcher, Eddie Murphy, Bella Murphy, Shayne Audra Murphy, Zola Ivy Murphy and Bria Murphy Xavier
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/J0X2VvxkhQlRrKXZo.3LkA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/c374710f81e2ac09f09af39461f8c590 class=caas-img>Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bOrftztgseRQr4f4quWqPg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/f28db6a8cd0d97fc61763ef9576081d6 class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/bOrftztgseRQr4f4quWqPg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/f28db6a8cd0d97fc61763ef9576081d6 class=caas-img>Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher
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Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/cDbwov5vc5h0RlNS0I2v9Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xODYz/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/50a1c3cde0713e45ea71cb2136338b6d class=caas-img>Eddie Murphy and Bria Murphy Xavier
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OxS9qjlvtNeZI.y85PDA3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD05OTQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/559db927a3c6ae7acf8a41067199219d class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Eddie Murphy and Bria Murphy Xavier
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" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OxS9qjlvtNeZI.y85PDA3g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD05OTQ-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/559db927a3c6ae7acf8a41067199219d class=caas-img>Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2Sdhieu7GzwbfASF1hWZFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/dbc7cf8011c65797285bdbbb88f0ec74 class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
">Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/2Sdhieu7GzwbfASF1hWZFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/dbc7cf8011c65797285bdbbb88f0ec74 class=caas-img>Paige Butcher and Eddie Murphy
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/fo02Ej9HQ4XfsqF_MIb4Hg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/10e1cc94b06d40afd32da5e90439473f class=caas-img data-headline="See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere" data-caption="
Paige Butcher and Eddie Murphy
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1 / 10See Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and more stars at the 'Being Eddie' Netflix premiere
Eddie Murphy's friends and family helped celebrate the debut of Netflix's "Being Eddie" during the premiere on Nov. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. The new documentary film on the comedy legend's life is available to stream on Netflix.
Murphy previously said on "The Tonight Show" that he would have played Bob Hoskins' character, Eddie Valiant, in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," but at the time, he thought blending animation and real people was a bizarre idea. "Now, every time I see it, I feel like an idiot," he quipped.
Murphy didn't get into details about "Rush Hour" with AP. But he previously told Complex he turned down Chris Tucker's part in the 1998 action comedy and instead made "one of my worst movies": the 1998 comedy "Holy Man," which was eviscerated by critics and bombed at the box office.
"They came to me and it was two scripts: It was 'Rush Hour,' and it's going to be action comedy, and you're going to be [with] Jackie Chan, and it's action [in the] summertime, running, all this physical stuff, and this other one was [me] in a robe in Miami," he joked. "It was a no-brainer! And we went to Miami and made a horrendous film."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Eddie Murphy in 'Ghostbusters'? Movies he regrets turning down
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
