Eddie Murphy is defending his 2007 comedy Norbit, 18 years later.
The actor-comedian was the top contender for the best supporting actor Oscar following his 2006 performance in Dreamgirls, though it’s been long believed that he lost out on the award after Norbit released in 2007. Although it’s commonly assumed that the comedy snuffed out his Oscars campaign, Murphy doesn’t agree with that sentiment.
“I love Norbit. Norbit came out right after I got that Oscar nomination,” he told Complex. “There were articles like, ‘How can he get an Oscar, he did this?’ They’re two different movies.”
The Beverly Hills Cop lead stood ten toes down for the film, which he notably wrote alongside his brother, Charlie Murphy. He continued, “I wrote Norbit with my brother, Charlie, and we think Norbit is funny. Here’s the thing with Norbit — it came out and they gave me Razzie Awards for worst actress, worst actor and worst actor of the decade. And I was like, ‘Come on now, shit ain’t that bad.’”
The 79th Academy Awards took place in February 2007, and Murphy was nominated for supporting actor alongside Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children), Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) and Mark Wahlberg (The Departed). Arkin took home the coveted title.
Dreamgirls is an adaptation of the 1981 Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name. The film spotlighted the musical trio the Dreamettes, who were loosely inspired by The Supremes. Murphy played James (Jimmy) “Thunder” Early in the movie.
“I like Norbit,” Murphy added. “To this day, I like Norbit. There’s stuff in Norbit that makes me laugh.”
While the Shrek star didn’t end up earning an Oscar for Dreamgirls, his co-star Jennifer Hudson did. She won the title of best supporting actress, and the film also won the Oscar for best sound mixing.