Eddie Murphy Reflects on Meeting Marlon Brando: ‘I Was Just Going on and on About ‘The Godfather’”
Harrison Richlin
Eddie Murphy may have just been born uber-confident. From a young age, he knew was gonna make it and, indeed, by just 19, he was already a cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” From there, he would go on to star in comedy hits like “48 Hrs.” and “Trading Places,” which is when he started receiving recognition from his fellow thespians. A recognition he says in a recent interview with The New York Times, he didn’t quite appreciate it at the time.
“I started at maybe around 13, 14, saying that I was going to be famous,” Murphy said. “I’d tell my mother, ‘When I’m famous…’ So when I got famous, it was like, ‘See, I told you.’ I was having these famous people that I grew up watching on television wanting to have a meal with me. After ‘48 Hrs.’ Marlon Brando calls my agent and wants to meet me. Now I look back and go, ‘Wow, that’s crazy: The greatest actor of all time wants to have dinner with you!’ But back then I just thought, ‘Well, that’s the way it is: You make a movie, and Marlon Brando calls.’”
Expanding on what it was like to meet the famous Method actor, Murphy said, “The first time we were supposed to meet was at the L’Ermitage in Los Angeles. He came to the hotel, and we had dinner at the restaurant on the top. The second time was at his house, and he came and picked me up at the hotel. But there was a time mix-up, and I came down like a half-hour late — he was waiting for me in the car. [Laughs.] We went to his house on Mulholland; I was just going on and on about ‘The Godfather,’ and he was like, ‘Eh, ‘The Godfather.’”
Rather than talk about himself, it seemed Brando preferred to shit-talk with Murphy about the craft of acting and the business, in particular another actor known for his cowboy roles.
“He was like, ‘Acting is bullshit, and everybody can act,’” said Murphy to The New York Times. “This is how long ago it was: He was going, ‘I can’t stand that kid with the gun.’ I was like, ‘What kid with the gun?’ He said, ‘He’s on the poster!’ I was like, ‘Clint Eastwood?’ ‘Yeah, that guy!’ He was calling Clint Eastwood ‘that kid.’”
