Eddie Murphy’s daughter Bella talks film debut in 'Coming 2 America'
Bella Murphy, daughter of Eddie Murphy, makes her film debut in Coming 2 America with a very fitting role: She plays Princess Omma, the daughter of King Akeem Joffer, the iconic character played by her dad.
Yahoo Entertainment recently spoke with Murphy about how she landed the role.
"Originally I asked to be an extra," she said, mentioning that a family rule forbids showbiz work until the age of 18. But her dad ended up bending that rule a tad.
"I think he just saw how passionate I really was about it and was like, 'I'm going to let you audition for the princess if you want,'" she recalled. "Which of course I took because I wanted to do it."
Watch more from Murphy in the above interview.
Video Transcript
- I thought that Meeka was going to be queen.
- A woman isn't allowed to rule Zamunda. It's the law.
- Did it ever occur to you that Meeka wanted to be your heir?
- Don't you dare banish me from my own bedroom.
KEVIN POLOWY: Stella, this is your film debut and I got to imagine it's extra special for you. You know someone else involved in this movie. How did it first come up that you would play your father's daughter in this one?
BELLA MURPHY: Well, originally I asked to be an extra because we're not allowed to work in our family until, or in this industry specifically, until we're 18. So I didn't think that that would ever be a possibility. I remember I was doing-- me and my dad do lots of acting scenes together just for fun and because he's a great teacher and it's just something we enjoy doing. And then we also watch a bunch of movies and I was going to acting classes. Unfortunately I can't do that as much now because of quarantine.
I think he just saw that and saw how passionate I really was about it and was like, I'm going to let you audition for the princess if you want. Like he gave that option to me, which of course I took, because I wanted to do it. So I did the audition and I practiced with him and then, yeah. It was awesome.
KEVIN POLOWY: Bella, your father has done so many great comedies over the years. But the original "Coming to America" is right at the top of the list for a lot of people. Where would you say it ranks among his films, sort of in the Murphy household, as a whole?
BELLA MURPHY: I don't want to rank my dad's films. I don't know. I love all my dad's films. That's hard to like be like, this one, this one, this one. I'll just say a personal favorite, like my favorite one, is probably "Beverly Hills Cop".
- We're not going to fall for a banana in the tailpipe.
- You're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe.
[LAUGHING]
