Plenty of stars have left their marks on the comedy genre, and Eddie Murphy is easily one of the most esteemed members of that group. Since his rise in the ‘80s, the beloved star has tickled fans’ funny bones with his body of work. So it’s no wonder that he’s amassed quite a following of devotees, including fellow comedian Lamorne Morris. CinemaBlend recently had the opportunity to speak with Morris, who admitted to obsessing over Murphy. Yet the Desperados alum also explained why Murphy’s worth the hype, and it ties back to SNL.
Lamorne Morris is one of the stars that make up the ensemble of Jason Reitman’s latest film, Saturday Night. The 2024 movie release chronicles the BTS drama that plagued the first taping of the show that would be known as Saturday Night Live. When CinemaBlend spoke to Morris (who played Garrett Morris in the movie), he showered praise upon the Delirious performer. Morris specifically highlighted one key skill that the Oscar nominee possesses, which he says can be chalked up to the Tower Heist star’s days at Studio 8H:
Eddie Murphy is the king. There was a while where I was obsessed with him. I was just so fascinated with everything that he did. Nutty Professor is one of my favorite movies. I mean, the guy plays seven characters, you know? Coming to America, he’s playing 100 characters. The ability to do something like that, the stamina to do something like that, a film day is difficult. To go through all that and then create a completely different character for the same scene is genius. And his origin was Saturday Night Live, and it’s a great training ground for some of the greatest entertainers that we’ve ever seen. And I think Eddie Murphy is at the top of that list.
As a longtime fan of the Harlem Nights star myself, I agree with the Barbershop: The Next Cut star’s sentiments. The former SNL star has the uncanny ability to lose himself in a character, but what’s even more impressive is that he can seamlessly do that for scenes composed solely of characters he’s playing. The aforementioned dinner sequences alluded to in the Nutty Professor movies are prime examples of that. Check out the clip below to see a portion of our chat with Lamorne Morris, which features clips from the best Murphy movies:
Eddie Murphy holds the distinction of being one of the select SNL cast members who made a huge impact in less than five seasons. After being cast on the show in 1980, Murphy truly became a superstar the moment he established the character of Raheem Abdul Mohammad. From there, he’d go to play iconic roles like Mr. Robinson, Velvet Jones and Buckwheat on the famed TV series. Murphy left the show in 1984, opting to go for a film career, and he found significant success Today, he’s most famous for his roles in the likes of 48 Hrs., Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, Bowfinger and more. Also, when it comes to his body of work, Murphy believes his greatest performances are present within The Nutty Professor.
It should be noted that Lamorne Morris also has been carving out a solid legacy himself. He truly rose to prominence as a cast member on New Girl, the hit Fox sitcom that ran for seven seasons. He’s also notched roles in notable movies and TV shows like Game Night, Yesterday, The Christmas Chronicles, Woke and Unstable. He most recently starred on the fifth season of FX’s crime anthology series Fargo, for which he was the 2024 Emmy winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
All in all, it does my heart well to see that the ex-BrainRush host has such an appreciation for Eddie Murphy. The SNL icon truly is one of a kind and more than deserves his flowers for his contributions to comedy. I’d hope that fellow comedy aficionados would agree with me when I say that the genre would be poorer without him.
You can see Eddie Murphy’s work on SNL by streaming past episodes using a Peacock subscription. Meanwhile, Saturday Night is playing in theaters now, so go check out Lamorne Morris’ turn as Garrett Morris (who he’s not related to).
