During an appearance on ‘Today’, the comedian known for his portrayal of Prince Akeem reveals that film chiefs were uneasy at releasing his classic comedy as he had originally envisioned.
- Mar 1, 2021
AceShowbiz – Eddie Murphy hired fellow veteran comedian Louie Anderson to star in his “Coming to America” classic because studio bosses refused to make the movie without “somebody white” in the cast.
Anderson portrayed fast food employee Maurice in the 1998 hit, and Murphy confesses the casting decision was only made to satisfy film chiefs, who were apparently uneasy at releasing the comedy as the funnyman had originally envisioned.
“Louie Anderson is in the original ‘Coming to America’ because the whole cast was black and the studio was like, ‘We have to have somebody white in the movie. We’re not making the movie without somebody white in it’,” Murphy recalled on U.S. breakfast show “Today“.
“I was like, ‘Really?’ So I was like, ‘Who’s the funniest white guy around and [is] a friend of mine? Oh, Louie’s perfect!’ and that’s how Louie ended up in the movie.”
“Coming to America” was distributed by officials at Paramount Pictures.
Murphy is reprising his role as Prince Akeem for a long-awaited sequel, and this time, he made it a family affair, recruiting his real-life daughter, 19-year-old Bella Murphy, to play one of his three onscreen daughters.
And the comedy icon couldn’t contain his pride at getting to work alongside his child in “Coming 2 America“, which will debut on Amazon Prime Video on March 5.
“I can’t even put into words [his joy]…,” he said. “You go see your child in a school play and your heart bursts with pride. To look over on the set and seeing her, I had the big, giant, proud papa moment every day.”
Bella is one of Murphy’s 10 children, and it’s his role as a dad which he treasures the most, “My legacy is my children, it’s these 10 human beings that I brought into the world,” he smiled.
Source: Movies - aceshowbiz.com
