Eddie Murphy is back as the wise-cracking Detroit detective Axel Foley in the fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie, hitting Netflix on July 3. But this time around, Eddie’s feeling his age!
Chatting with Al Roker on the Today show, the 63-year-old comedian joked about how tough it was to play Axel again after so many years. "I did Beverly Hills Cop when I was 21, and now I’m 63. It felt like old man,” he laughed.
When the director asked Eddie to run down some steps faster, Eddie simply said, “No!” He admitted, “I’m not doing any action scenes. Call me only if you’ve got the same type of role you'd offer Morgan Freeman,” he teased.
In this new movie, Axel Foley is back in Beverly Hills to save his daughter and teams up with new partner Detective Bobby Abbott (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals John Taggart (John Ashton) and Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) to bust a conspiracy.
Eddie’s first outing as Axel Foley was in 1984, where the Detroit cop went to California to solve his friend’s murder. He became an instant hit, leading to sequels in 1987 and 1994.
Reflecting on his iconic role, Eddie said, “Beverly Hills Cop was my first big lead. People still call me Axel Foley. Axel is just a regular guy who steps up when needed. And most importantly, he’s funny.”