You might not have noticed, but Eddie Murphy’s IMDb profile has a substantial blank gap where one might expect to find a few important parts in major motion pictures. It’s been a busy couple of years, so you might not have noticed. With the exception of a few short films and the indie disaster Mr. Church, the comedic star almost disappeared after 2012’s Tower Heist. It’s a strange void, since the SNL alum used to release two or three films a year.

Mind you, they weren’t necessarily good films. Despite his many iconic roles, Murphy has about two dozen “rotten” films on Rotten Tomatoes, with 2012’s A Thousand Words receiving an abysmal 0% critical approval rating. After a while, Murphy’s kind of comedy became the brunt of a societal joke — check Jack Black’s The Fatties part in Tropic Thunder for proof — and the act wore thin with viewers, possibly jeopardizing Murphy’s chances for awards season accolades. For years, there have been speculations that Murphy’s chances of winning an Oscar for 2006’s Dreamgirls were ruined by the late release of Norbit.

On a recent episode of WTF with Marc Maron, the comedian and actor explained why he took the time off.

Murphy, 59, who is currently starring in “Coming 2 America,” the highly anticipated sequel to his beloved 1988 comedy “Coming to America,” said he stopped making movies in 2011 after a string of flops that earned him Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as Razzies), which honor the year’s worst in film.

“Norbit.” Paramount Pictures

Murphy admitted to Maron, “I was making shitty movies. I was like, ‘This shit ain’t fun. They’re giving me Razzies…’ Motherfuckers gave me the Worst Actor Ever Razzie. [So I thought], ‘Maybe it’s time to take a break.’”

“Norbit,” “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” and “Meet Dave” are among Murphy’s Razzie-winning films.

In 2010, he won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor of the Decade.

The break, however, lasted longer than Murphy had anticipated. He recalls, “I was only gonna take a break for a year, then all of a sudden six years go by, and I’m sitting on the couch. I could sit on the couch and not get off it, but I don’t want to the last bunch of shit they see me do [to be] bullshit. The plan was to go do Dolemite, Saturday Night Live, Coming 2 America, and then do stand-up and see how I felt afterwards. At least then they’ll know I’m [still] funny.”

Eddie Murphy made a comeback in 2019 with the release of Dolemite Is My Name, after virtually giving up acting for six years. Many people believe that Dolemite Is My Name is Murphy’s single best picture. It was an extraordinarily successful film that was appreciated by practically everyone. Whether or not you agree with that assessment, there is no doubt that the film marked the beginning of a new chapter in Murphy’s career.

“Dolemite Is My Name.” Netflix

In 2019, the Razzies honored his comeback by awarding him the Redeemer Award. For his performance, he was nominated for a Golden Globe, while the film was nominated for Best Picture Musical or Comedy.

Eddie Murphy was prepared to capitalize on the momentum his career was experiencing following the success of Dolemite Is My Name. As a result, Murphy has declared that he might return to standup comedy after a long hiatus. Murphy’s planned 2020 comedy tour was forced to be postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic, which took the wind out of a lot of people’s sails.

He received his first Emmy Award for his return performance on a December 2019 broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Coming 2 America premiered on Amazon Prime to positive reviews.