It’s been great to have Eddie Murphy back, first with his award-gobbling turn in Dolemite is My Name, and as host on Saturday’s SNL — his return to the show that made his name. He’s also been doing the talk show rounds, which means even more Eddie. On Friday night the actor and comic swung by The Tonight Show, where he opened up to Jimmy Fallon about one of his biggest regrets: not taking the lead in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Fallon was grilling him about some of the big roles he turned down over his career, specifically prodding him about how he almost co-starred in the original Ghostbusters, in the role that eventually went to Ernie Hudson (and which was infamously cut down). Murphy replied that the main reason he didn’t do it was because he was already tied up with one of his most famous films: Beverly Hills Cop. But with Roger Rabbit, he flat-out refused.
“The only movie that I have turned down that became a big hit was that, Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” Murphy revealed. “I was going to be the Bob Hoskins dude,” he added, but he admitted that he found the premise silly. “I was like, ‘what? Animation and people sounds like bullsh*t to me,’” he joked. “Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot.”
Yes, we could have gotten an even crazier Roger Rabbit, with Eddie Murphy ad-libbing with classic cartoon characters and battling an evil toon Christopher Lloyd.
You can watch the full interview above, which also includes stories about meeting Marlon Brando and partying with Prince. And you can watch Murphy perform on SNL for the first time in 35 years Saturday night, on NBC at 11:30pm.
(Via Deadline)
