Eddie Murphy is set to be honoured with a life achievement award from the American Film Institute, the AFI board of trustees announced on November 21. The accolade will be presented at a gala tribute in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre on April 18.
“Eddie Murphy is an American icon,” said Kathleen Kennedy, chair of the institute’s board of trustees. “A trailblazing force across film, television and stand-up comedy, his versatility knows no bounds.”
Murphy, 64, has been a dominant presence in entertainment for nearly 50 years. He first gained fame as a teenage stand-up sensation, went on to join the cast of Saturday Night Live, and later achieved box office success across multiple decades with hits such as ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, ‘Coming to America’, ‘The Nutty Professor’ and the ‘Shrek’ franchise. In 2007, he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Dreamgirls’, having already won a Screen Actors Guild award and a Golden Globe for the role, though he did not win the Oscar.
In a new documentary about his life and career, ‘Being Eddie’, currently streaming on Netflix, Murphy reflected that he was more irritated by having to wear a tuxedo and attend awards ceremonies than by losing.
“It’s always wonderful to win stuff, but if I don’t win, I don’t give a…,” he said. “I’m still Eddie in the morning.”
In 2023, Murphy received the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, where he kept his acceptance speech to a brisk two minutes. Speaking to the Associated Press in 2021, he said his perspective on life has changed since the height of his fame.
“You take everything for granted when you’re young; how successful I was,” Murphy said. “Now I take nothing for granted and appreciate everything.”
AFI gala tributes are often star-studded occasions. Last year, at Francis Ford Coppola’s dinner, Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro and Harrison Ford were among those who turned out to pay tribute.
Murphy is the 51st recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, first presented in 1973 to John Ford. Other recent honourees include Nicole Kidman, Julie Andrews and Denzel Washington.
