That’s why Eddie Murphy was “forced” to change his famous laugh

As Eddie Murphy returns to the role that made him a megastar and reveals some secrets about his rise to superstardom. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F premieres on Netflix on July 3, and the actor talks about his previous performances as Axel Foley. One of the biggest changes since Murphy’s previous work is the disappearance of his unique laugh.

The “Saturday Night Live” veteran was responsible for the change because he felt that everyone was “making too much of it.”

“In the 80s I thought to myself: I don’t want to be known as someone who laughs,” said Murphy CBR“I noticed that some people imitated me, and when someone imitated me, they just laughed.”

The “Dreamgirls” actor doesn’t seem to be a fan of the impersonations, as he describes most of them in lackluster terms.

If you say, ‘Do an imitation,’ they laugh,” he said. “They talk like me and they talk like the donkey (from ‘Shrek’) … And then it seems to me like it’s not me.”

He’s absolutely right, because we’ve been hearing bad imitations of Eddie Murphy for 40 years. Most of these comedians aren’t imitating the actor, they’re making recreations of his characters. These pale copies led the legend to change his laugh, but changing something like that isn’t easy. He had to take drastic measures to make sure the change lasted.

“I forced myself to stop laughing, which is actually unnatural,” he said. “You laugh and you say to yourself, OK, I have to stop laughing like that. And now I don’t laugh like that anymore.”

As for his famous character, Axel finds himself in Beverly Hills when his daughter, played by Taylor Paige, is in danger. To help her, he teams up with Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), Taggart (John Ashton), Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser) and Serge (Bronson Pinchot). They are joined by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Axel’s new partner, Det. Bobby Abbott and Kevin Bacon as Captain Cade Grant.

If you feel like rewatching the film before it comes out, you can stream the first three films on Paramount+, while the first two films are available on Netflix.

“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” premieres on Netflix on July 3.