Award-winning actor and comedian Eddie Murphy is pulling back the curtain on his life, from his memorable career to his taste in entertainment. In the newly-released trailer for Netflix’s upcoming documentary Being Eddie, the Shrek actor, 64, shares his appreciation for the popular MTV comedy clip show Ridiculousness, playfully dubbing it the “best show on television.”
“I love that [Murphy] is sitting around watching Ridiculousness,” Saturday Night Live alum Pete Davidson says in another moment of the trailer. “That’s f—ing hilarious.”
From his early career as a stand-up comic to his family films, Being Eddie will chronicle the “extraordinary life and legacy of the genre-defying star” who has made a name for himself in comedy, animation, musicals, drama and more, according to the official logline and synopsis from Netflix. The highly-anticipated documentary is also packed with A-list comedians as they reflect on the impact Murphy’s career has had on their own lives and bodies of work. In one clip from the trailer, Jamie Foxx credits Murphy for changing “the way we view comedy,” while Jerry Seinfeld calls him a “miracle.” Other entertainers and filmmakers featured in the flick include Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan, Reginald Hudlin, and Dave Chappelle.
“It goes without saying that there is only one Eddie Murphy. No other teen comedian shared a stage with Jerry Seinfeld at 17, and joined the cast of Saturday Night Live right out of high school. No actor has ever played a cop, a doctor, and a donkey — and dominated every facet of Hollywood he’s touched. Fewer still have been an A-list celebrity for over four decades, and never succumbed to its darker side. Murphy’s unusual combination of explosive charisma, focused ambition, raw talent, and deep-set circumspection puts him in a league of his own, and is on full display in Being Eddie.”
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s Being Eddie below.
Netflix Documentary Reveals Who Eddie Murphy Really Is
Director Angus Wall applauded Murphy for his unique talent and praised him as someone who “never lost” himself throughout the ups and downs of his career in Netflix’s press release for the documentary. While many fans have come to associate Murphy with the many iconic roles he’s played over the years, Wall also teased that the film would give fans a sneak peek into whom the actor really is as a person, away from the stage and off the big screen.
“There’s a great clip of Eddie on a talk show early on in his career, talking about how he’s always been able to do impersonations and different voices. He talks about how his mom used to ask him, ‘Who’s Eddie? What voice is Eddie’s voice?’ This movie answers that question. Eddie has played a lot of different characters over the last 40-plus years, but he has never played himself onscreen before. He opens up his world and his heart and I think people are going to really enjoy spending time with him.”
Catch Being Eddie streaming on Netflix on Nov. 12.
