The Real Reason Eddie Murphy Stopped Doing His Iconic Laugh

To this day, if you hear anyone doing an Eddie Murphy impression, it's a safe bet the comedian's iconic laugh will come through at some point. In truth, that may be considered a vestigial component, as the actor actually hasn't done that laugh in years precisely because it became so synonymous with him.

Eddie Murphy is a true comedic genius, and he's going back to his roots with Netflix's "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F." He spoke with CBR to promote the new comedy, and when asked about why his trademark laugh doesn't come through in the sequel, the star explained, "In the 80s, I was like, 'I don't want to be known for a laugh ... That's all [impersonators] did was that laugh ... It was like, 'Hey, you know what, I'm going to stop laughing.' I forced myself to stop laughing."

It would seem while Axel had a boisterous laugh in the first "Beverly Hills Cop" movie, fans shouldn't expect it this time around. Murphy continued, "If you say do an impression, they'll do that laugh. They'll talk like me, and they'll talk like the Donkey [from 'Shrek']. If you say, do Eddie Murphy, They talk, 'Hey, how you doing! [Exaggerated laugh] And it's like, that's not me." The actor may not do the laugh, but he's bringing back some '80s sensibilities, as "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" is rated R, allowing Murphy to do the type of comedy that put him on the map in the first place. 

It only took one person, Jerry Bruckheimer, to convince Eddie Murphy to return for "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F." However, the comedic legend also mentioned to CBR how he'd only come back to the franchise that helped make him a household name on another condition — there had to be a good script. One would assume that would always need to be the case, but seeing as how the first film is really the only one in the series that could unilaterally be considered "good," the franchise has definitely been lacking in certain areas. 

Some fans may not know this, but originally, "Beverly Hills Cop" was supposed to be a Sylvester Stallone vehicle whose name was intended to be "Axel Cobretti." Eddie Murphy got in there, and it became a comedy classic. As he told CBR, "The original 'Beverly Hills Cop' script is not written funny. It was a Sylvester Stallone action movie ... It's like, if you give me anything that any action star has, I'm not going to play it like Stallone, I'm not going to play it like Tom Cruise, I'm going to play it like me. So it adds this funny element to it."

It's been 30 years between movies, with "Beverly Hills Cop III" being released in 1994. That's plenty of time to get a good script, and hopefully, it'll be worth the wait with "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" coming to Netflix on July 3. Eddie Murphy may not be doing his signature laugh in it, but viewers at home ideally should be laughing their socks off.