Eddie Murphy talks his upcoming return to standup comedy

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

After keeping things low-key for a number of years, comedic actor Eddie Murphy is ready to step back into the spotlight. With a number of projects on the horizon – including a role as Rudy Ray Moore for Netflix's MY NAME IS DOLEMITE and a sequel to John Landis' 1988 comedy COMING TO AMERICA – Murphy is also planning a return to the standup stage in 2020.

Recently Murphy was a guest of the Netflix podcast Present Company, which is hosted by Krista Smith. During his time on the show, Murphy elaborated about his ambitious plans for the future, as well as how much the industry has changed since he was a featured player of the Hollywood game.

"Next year, I'm going to tour, do some standup," the Saturday Night Live legend told Smith.

When asked if he's at all nervous about returning to the standup spotlight, Murphy explained, "No…. when I think about doing standup, this is the perfect analogy — when you go to the pool, and the water is cold, freezing, and you go, 'Ah, the water's f—ing cold' before you jump in, that's how I feel with standup. It's that feeling of, ooh, it's going to be freezing when you first jump in. That's not nervous or scared, that's just, I know the water is cold."

During his spot on Present Company, Murphy also talked about his passion for creating music, and how delving into the art form has taken up a majority of his "down time" for the past several years. "When I'm doing comedy, that's a comic persona. When I'm doing music, it's kind of like, that's me. The things that I write about, that's me. You get insight to me, listening to something that I wrote." According to Murphy, he has a collection of unreleased tracks and collaborations with other artists recorded. Knowing full-well that Murphy has a tremendous singing voice, I would love to give those cuts a solid listen.

Eventually, Murphy's conversation with Smith turned to matters of "the business," and how much things have changed since he was knocking down film projects left and right. When talking about the massive sea change that he's witnessed first-hand, Murphy told Smith the following:

"It was singing, dancing and acting and you've got to have some type of talent or craft, then marketing and distributing, that stuff is show business." He continued, "The last ten years or so, there's been a big paradigm shift in reality — everything has changed into this other thing —the internet, and all this different stuff. What's entertaining now? You can go on YouTube and put in, 'show me two men fighting.' What is entertainment, has been broadened over the last ten years and the world just shifted into a whole other place."

Regardless of feeling like a veteran who's looking to hang with the younger crowd, Murphy says that he feels fortunate to be in the position that he's in. "So many of my contemporaries; the people who came on the scene when I came on the scene, are all dead. So it's exciting to be here, and see the big change."

Though his comment is rather grim, Murphy is not kidding around about the comedy landscape having changed dramatically since his heyday. Technology is a hell of a drug, and nowadays potential audience members turn to social media, streaming platforms, and video hosting sites like YouTube to ply their trade. Only those who strike it rich are able to gain a foothold when it comes to selling out major venues or landing their own comedy specials. It's a dog eat dog world, my friends. Always has been. Always will be. You either keep up with the pack or you get left behind. Don't be the mutt. Be the alpha.