Although Eddie Murphy worked with Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson in the aughts, he might have been his own favorite leading lady.
The Oscar nominee recently defended his 2007 comedy Norbit as a “funny” movie, following theories that the Brian Robbins-directed movie cost him the golden statuette for Dreamgirls (2006).
“I love Norbit. Norbit came out right after I got that Oscar nomination. There were articles like, ‘How can he get an Oscar, he did this?’ They’re two different movies,” he explained to Complex.
“I wrote Norbit with my brother, Charlie [Murphy], and we think Norbit is funny,” added Murphy. “Here’s the thing with Norbit; it came out and they gave me Razzie Awards for worst actress, worst actor and worst actor of the decade. And I was like, ‘Come on now, shit ain’t that bad.’ I like Norbit. To this day, I like Norbit. There’s stuff in Norbit that makes me laugh.”
Norbit starred Murphy as the titular mild-mannered pushover who rekindles a romance with his childhood sweetheart Kate (Thandiwe Newton) after he’s forced to marry the overbearing Rasputia (also Murphy). In addition to the aforementioned Razzies, Murphy also won Worst Supporting Actor for his performance as Chinese orphanage owner Mr. Wong.
Eddie Murphy, Beyonce Knowles, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose in ‘Dreamgirls’ (2006) (DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection)
And despite the movie’s 9% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Norbit opened at the top of the box office and surpassed $159 million worldwide. Murphy’s Rasputia and Mr. Wong transformations also earned the movie an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup.
Playing James ‘Thunder’ Early in the Bill Condon-helmed movie musical adaptation of Broadway’s Dreamgirls, Murphy earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, which was ultimately awarded to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine.
