Robin Williams Once Called Eddie Murphy a ‘Shark Who Knows Where the Blood Is’
In the ’80s, Eddie Murphy became one of comedy fans’ favorites thanks to his iconic work. However, Murphy’s success wasn’t unnoticed by his contemporary Robin Williams, who had some interesting words for the Nutty Professor star’s accomplishments.
Robin Williams felt Eddie Murphy was on top of the food chain in this area
The ’80s were a big decade for Murphy. He achieved worldwide fame thanks to his casting in the hit comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1980-84. Then, he achieved even greater success by starring in a string of successful films like Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, Harlem Nights, and others. His peer, Williams, wasn’t too far behind.
Williams transitioned from television to movies by starring in projects like 1987’s Good Morning, Vietnam, which might’ve been his true breakout role. Until then, many of his films weren’t getting the kind of critical praise that Vietnam did. At the time, Williams explained how he was trying to take his film career in a different direction, which didn’t work too well before Vietnam.
“I’ve had an odd habit of choosing projects that were the opposite of me, sometimes to the detriment,” Williams said in a 1988 interview with Rolling Stone. “People are now saying about Good Morning, Vietnam, ‘This film is basically you and what you do best. So why did you wait eight years?’ Well, I made other choices. I wanted to go against what I was doing on TV — not just with Mark & Mindy but the cable stuff as well. I was saying, in effect, ‘I’ll act. I’ll show you I can act.’”
Good Morning, Vietnam, however, saw Williams return to his roots as a comedian. He found himself playing an actual comedian who provided joy and humor to soldiers on the battlefield. Highlighting the importance of the movie, Williams shared that his star power most likely would’ve taken a hit if Vietnam flopped.
“You simply slip down the comedy food chain, that list of people who get scripts. It exists. From the top, there’s Eddie Murphy and Bill [Murray] and Steve [Martin]. I guess on the next level there’s Tom Hanks, myself, John Candy — there’s a lot of us. It all kind of works that way,” Williams said.
Mentioning Murphy, his younger peer’s ability to choose the best scripts impressed Williams. Murphy’s eye for good stories and blockbusters was why the Aladdin star once considered him the most successful comic actor.
“He’s instinctual, like a shark who knows where the blood is. He’s only made a few mistakes. He knows what his area is and what he does. That’s why he’s on top of the script food chain,” Williams said.
Eddie Murphy thanked God he didn’t take Robin Williams up on his offer to do drugs
More than his comedic work and his taste in good movie scripts, Murphy attributed his success to wise life choices. He once pointed out an incident involving Williams and another comic as an example of his instincts, which he believed was a gift from God.
“I remember I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar,” Murphy said in an interview with The New York Times. “It was me, Belushi, and Robin Williams. They start doing coke, and I was like, ‘No, I’m cool.’ I wasn’t taking some moral stance. I just wasn’t interested in it. To not have the desire or the curiosity, I’d say that’s providence. God was looking over me in that moment.”
The Dreamgirls star felt this was divine intervention. It would’ve been too easy for someone his age to give into temptation. In hindsight, Murphy realized how close he might’ve been to compromising his success if he made one wrong move.
“When you get famous really young, especially a Black artist, it’s like living in a minefield,” Murphy continued. “Any moment something could happen that can undo everything. It was like, all of this stuff is going on, and I’m totally oblivious. Now, at this age, I can look back and be like, ‘Wow, I came through a minefield for 35 years.’”
