Eddie Murphy opens up about his first and solely audition that result in his breakthrough
Eddie Murphy, who on the age of 19 turned the one second Black not-ready-for-prime-time participant on Saturday Night time Reside, mirrored on his five-decade-long profitable profession and his solely audition.
The 48 Hours actor mentioned his atypical profession within the new two-part Apple TV+ documentary Quantity One on the Name Sheet. Episode 1, Black Main Males in Hollywood, says that his profession was practically inevitable from the beginning.
“Early on, I just knew I was going to be fa — I started when I’m around 16, I’m going, ‘I’m gonna be famous,” stated the Buying and selling Locations actor.
A classic clip from 1981 is proven subsequent, and in it, a younger, Murphy makes a daring prediction. “I wanna get, I would say famous by the time I’m 21,” he says. “I’m 19 now. I give myself two years.”
Speaking about his solely audition, the 63-year-old actor shared, “When I was 19, I got Saturday Night Live, and things just started happening. I didn’t go through all of the stuff that a lot of actors, I didn’t got through auditions.”
“I had one audition in my whole life. I think I’m the only actor that could say that. I had one audition. It was for Saturday Night Live,” he added.
Nonetheless, regardless of some helpful recommendation, Murphy stated that when he started his profession in Hollywood he was in “uncharted waters” explaining that even skilled Black actors like Sidney Poitier, Heavyweight boxing champion Larry Holmes and Godfather of Soul James Brown have been unable to offer him a lot recommendation as they have been unfamiliar to his sort of rise to fame.
Quantity One of many Name Sheet is now streaming since March 28, 2025.
