Eddie Murphy reveals why he avoided drugs in career

Eddie Murphy reveals a blunt comment from a fellow comedian kept him away from drugs, shaping a decades-long Hollywood career

Hollywood legend Eddie Murphy has opened up about why drugs never became part of his decades-long career, crediting a blunt remark from a fellow comedian for steering him away.

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Speaking to Collider, Murphy, 64, revealed that although he tried weed and once used a dentist-prescribed painkiller in his 20s, he was never drawn to stronger substances.

“I never had interest in hard stuff,” Murphy said, recalling how he felt unusually good after taking Percocet for dental pain.

Although he finished the prescription, he quickly realised it was not for him.

The turning point came at the famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles.

Murphy recounted taking Percocet and smoking a joint the same night when comedian Pauly Shore approached him and remarked, “You don’t even look like yourself tonight.”

Laughing, Murphy added, “I was like, ‘Who do I look like?’ and he said, ‘Some other dude,’ and walked away. Right there I decided I wasn’t messing with that anymore.”

He said the moment scared him off experimenting further. “I was like, what was I looking like? That was it for me,” Murphy explained.

Murphy is currently preparing to star in a biopic about Parliament-Funkadelic founder George Clinton and is set to play Inspector Clouseau in a remake of The Pink Panther.

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He said he studies his characters briefly before relying on instinct to bring them to life.