Eddie Murphy has clarified why he famously left the 2007 Oscars after losing Best Supporting Actor.
Murphy, 64, had been nominated in the category for his role as soul singer James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls. He lost to Alan Arkin who won for Little Miss Sunshine.
The Beverly Hills Cop star left the awards ceremony after his category was announced with many speculating over the reasons for his premature exit.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Murphy said it was not out of spite but because he didn’t want his fellow attendees to pity him and assume the role of “sympathy guy all night”.
“What happened was I was at the Oscars, I had lost, and then people kept coming over to me and kept [patting] me on the shoulder,” Murphy told the outlet. “Clint Eastwood came and rubbed my shoulder.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, I’m not gonna be this guy all night. Let’s just leave.’ I didn’t storm out. I was like, ‘I’m not gonna be the sympathy guy all night.'”
Speaking about losing to Arkin, Murphy recalled seeing an early screening of Little Miss Sunshine – also starring Toni Collette, Paul Dano and Greg Kinnear – and being taken aback by the actor’s performance.
“Jeff Katzenberg invited me over to see Little Miss Sunshine six months before it came out in the theatres, and I literally watched the movie and I watched Alan – and I hadn’t been nominated or anything yet – and I watched the movie and I turned to Jeff afterwards and I said, ‘Now that performance right there is one of those performances that will steal somebody’s Oscar.’ I said those exact words,” Murphy said.
“I was like, ‘He could steal somebody’s Oscar,’ then he stole mine,’” Murphy joked. “No, I don’t feel like he stole mine.”
Murphy’s nomination was one of eight for Dreamgirls, which received a total of eight nods at the 79th Academy Awards. It won for Best Sound Mixing, as well as Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson.
While that moment remains Murphy’s only Oscar nod so far, he has won both a Grammy Award for Eddie Murphy: Comedian (1983) and an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his stint hosting Saturday Night Live (2019).
The Shrek star also received a Bafta nod for his work voicing Donkey in the hit animated franchise, and has received several Golden Globe nominations for his performances in 48 Hrs, the Beverly Hills Cop series, Trading Places, The Nutty Professor, and Dolemite Is My Name. He won for Dreamgirls.
