Oscar upsets are bound to happen here and there, and it could definitely be argued that Eddie Murphy experienced just that. Murphy's Dreamgirls nomination for Best Supporting Actor seemed to be locked up, though he ultimately lost to the late, great Alan Arkin that year. Most notably, after his loss, Murphy left the show early. Now, he’s now setting the record straight about the real reason he left the building, and he even mentioned Clint Eastwood while explaining his rationale.
Every year, the Academy Awards offer opportunities for unforgettable wins, losses, and human moments. For example, Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and the whole Moonlight/La La Land fiasco live rent free in my head, but I have trouble remembering the big winners from even two years ago. For Eddie Murphy, an interaction with Clint Eastwood right after his 2007 Oscar loss led to one of those unforgettable moments. He recently told Entertainment Weekly the real reason he walked out early was not because he was upset about losing, but rather the aftermath:
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. 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.’
It's wild to think that for years, people thought the Shrek actor was a poor sport for losing the Oscar. Though I suppose it looked that way, given he even left before having a chance to support co-star Jennifer Hudson, who ended up winning Best Supporting actress for Dreamgirls that same night.
However, I can’t blame Murphy for trying to save his pride. It’s one thing to lose one of the main Oscar categories, but another to have past winners to try and comfort you all night. I’m sure Clint Eastwood meant well, but that was really the nail in the coffin for Murphy, it seems. The Coming to America star actually said he had come to terms with Arkin winning for Little Miss Sunshine, months before either of them were nominated for Best Supporting Actor:
Jeff Katzenberg invited me over to see Little Miss Sunshine six months before it came out in the theaters, 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. I was like, 'He could steal somebody's Oscar,' then he stole mine. No, I don't feel like he stole mine.
In reality, “stealing” an Oscar is a silly concept. Yet audiences always seem to blame the winning actor when they think another nominee was robbed of the win, like when newcomer Mikey Madison took home Best Actress last year for Anora over a career-defining performance from Demi Moore in The Substance.
It’s easy to forget in the grandeur and showmanship of Oscar night that a body of people behind the scenes decide the awards, and Eddie Murphy explains it usually comes down to a lot more than just the final performance shown on screen:
Winning an Oscar is more art than science. It's not like oh, you do this, and you do that, and you win the Oscar. No, it's all this intangible stuff that comes with winning: campaigning and your past stuff and what do they owe you and shit. All of that stuff comes into play when you get Oscars. When you add all of that stuff into it, [Arkin] totally deserves his Oscar for his whole career. He's an amazing actor.
I’m all for giving deserving career actors their flowers. It’s a huge reason why I hope Murphy’s fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler secures the nomination (and win) for his performance in Jay Kelly, which he has already received a 2026 Golden Globe nomination for. But, to Murphy’s point, the Happy Gilmore actor’s incredibly successful film career, as both an actor and producer, is not enough to put him ahead in the race. Sandler has been campaigning hard for this nomination, but like everything else in Hollywood, an Oscar win also comes down to money and favors.
I’m not saying Eddie Murphy didn’t deserve the win for his incredible performance as Jimmy Early. That’s the thing though: everyone else also deserved it. That’s why they were nominated in the first place, which I think is the true honor, sans all that intangible stuff the Norbit actor mentioned that goes into winning. Check out a snippet of Murphy's electric performance in Dreamgirls below:
However, Murphy's 2007 loss must have been a real eye-opener. He says he no longer cares about winning a golden statue but that the real reward is the long-lasting commercial success and fan appreciation of his films.
That’s not to say that I deem award season pointless, and it is still a huge honor to even just be nominated for an award. For many actors, they are “in pursuit of greatness” to quote Timothée Chalamet, and dream of being up on the Oscars stage. As for the audience at home, I personally will always tune in to root for my favorites, even as the program moves to YouTube in a few years.
Be on the look out for the 2026 Oscar nominations to see who gets in or gets snubbed when they drop January 22, and tune into the 98th Academy Awards on March 15, 2026 to see who wins, live on ABC. Fans can also stream Dreamgirls now using a Paramount+ subscription.
