Eddie Murphy Tells Ellen DeGeneres Why He’s Revisiting ‘Saturday Night Live’
Eddie Murphy’s return this week to NBC’s Saturday Night Live was a long time coming, and today the former SNL cast member tells talk show host Ellen DeGeneres what prompted the decision.
“I kinda wanted to go back after the 40th anniversary,” Murphy said (see clip below), referencing the 2015 SNL special that broke the much-reported feud between the comic and his old home (Murphy, who left the show in 1984, reportedly was angered over a ’90s-era joke by David Spade, who referred to Murphy as a “falling star.”)
On today’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Murphy said his appearance on the 40th anniversary special prompted “a big burst of nostalgia,” and that he has been waiting for the right time to take the next step. “Dolomite made this the perfect time,” he says about his Dolemite Is My Name movie.
Also during his Ellen visit, Murphy talks about meeting Mr. Rogers after playing his SNL version Mr. Robinson, and about revisiting the multi-character Coming to America franchise with the new sequel.
“Every time I do a make-up movie I always say this is the last time I’m doing this sh*t,” Murphy says. “Then I end up in the make-up chair.”
