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Key Points
Eddie Murphy tells EW why he really left the Oscars early after losing for Dreamgirls in 2007.
He insists it had nothing to do with being mad that Alan Arkin beat him, calling the late actor "hysterically funny" in Little Miss Sunshine.
A gesture from Clint Eastwood was the last straw that led Murphy to leave before his costars performed that night.
WhenEddie Murphylost at the 2007Oscars, headlines accused him ofboltingout in anger, but the legendary comedian explains toEntertainment Weeklythat it wasn't bitterness that led to his early exit, but feeling pity from a Hollywood icon.
TheSaturday Night Livealum snagged his first Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role as James "Thunder" Early, a.k.a. Jimmy, in the musicalDreamgirls,costarring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, and Jennifer Hudson.
Murphy was in a stacked category, up againstAlan ArkinforLittle Miss Sunshine,Jackie Earle Haley forLittle Children,Djimon Hounsou forBlood Diamond,and Mark Wahlberg forThe Departed.The comedian appeared nervous as Rachel Weisz paid tribute to each nominee before opening the envelope to reveal the winner. Then he politely applauded as Arkin made his way up to the stage.
Murphy didn't stay to watch Hudson win Best Supporting Actress or to enjoy his costars' performance of the film's three Best Original Song nominees — leading to speculation he was pissed.
"What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder," Murphy tells EW during a discussion about his Netflix documentaryBeing Eddie."Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder. And I was like, oh, no, no, I'm not gonna be this guy all night. Let's just leave. I didn't storm out. I was like, I'm not gonna be the sympathy guy all night."
Murphy insists he knew Arkin had the Oscar in the bag before they were even in competition for it, calling the actor, whodied in 2023, "hysterically funny" in his winning role.
"Jeff Katzenberg invited me over to seeLittle Miss Sunshinesix months before it came out in the theaters, and I literally watched the movie and I watched Alan — and I hadn't been nominated or anything yet — and I watched the movie and I turned to Jeff afterwards and I said, 'Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody's Oscar,'" Murphy recalls. "I said those exact words. I was like, 'He could steal somebody's Oscar,' then he stole mine."
Murphy laughs, then clarifies, "No, I don't feel like he stole mine."
TheComing to Americastar explains that he's come to learn "winning an Oscar is more art than science. It's not like oh, you do this, and you do that, and you win the Oscar. No, it's all this intangible stuff that comes with winning: campaigning and your past stuff and what do they owe you and s---. All of that stuff comes into play when you get Oscars."
He says Arkin had that winning formula. "When you add all of that stuff into it, he totally deserves his Oscar for his whole career. He's an amazing actor."
Eric Lee/Fox Searchlight
InBeing Eddie,Murphy calls losing any award a "mindf---," mostly due to the effort of going to the ceremony for no reason.
"The mindf--- for me is that I get dressed and come to the thing, 'cause I would usually not go to award shows," he says in the career-spanning documentary. "Whenever I lose, I'm like,These motherf---ers made me come all the way down. I could have f---ing lost at home. I'm all in the f---ing tuxedo. What a waste of time."
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In a way, Murphy actually predicted his Oscars loss decades earlier. While presenting Best Picture at the 1988 Oscars, theBeverly Hills Copstar delivered a stirring speech about theAcademy's oversight of Black performers.
"I'll probably never win an Oscar for saying this, but hey, what the hey, I gotta say it," he said in his speech, pointing out that only three Black performers had won in the Oscars' 60-year history at the time: Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, and Louis Gossett Jr.
"I just want you to know I'm gonna give this award, but Black people will not ride the caboose of society, and we will not bring up the rear anymore," his onstage remarks continued. "And I want you to recognize us."
Being Eddieis on Netflix now.
Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
