Critics Choice Awards 2020: Eddie Murphy Receives Lifetime Achievement Award, and Social Media Weighs In

Eddie Murphy received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday, adding more hardware to his shelf. The actor and comedian has been back on the awards show circuit thanks to his new film, Dolemite Is My Name, in which he stars as the late comedian Rudy Ray Moore. Fans watching at home were excited to see the legendary Murphy take home another honor.

“I’ve been making movies, next year… 40 years. I’ve been doing it for a minute now and being able to make a living as an actor is a privilege and a blessing,” Murphy said during the ceremony at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, reports Us Weekly. “And to make your living making people laugh, there’s no higher… you’re the luckiest person in the world to be able to do that.”

Murphy was nominated for Best Actor for Dolemite Is My Name, although he lost to Joker star Joaquin Phoenix. In 2007, he won Best Supporting Actor for Dreamgirls, a film that also earned him his only Oscar nomination. Murphy and his Dreamgirls co-stars were nominated for Best Acting Ensemble as well.

Murphy is in the midst of a comeback, following a string of disappointing movies. After filming Dolemite Is My Name, he started work on Coming 2 America, a sequel to 1988’s Coming to America scheduled to open on Dec. 18. Murphy is also working on a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie. In December, he hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time since 1985. There are also rumors that he signed a deal with Netflix to make a new stand-up special.

Although this all looks like a comeback to those on the outside, Murphy himself does not see it that way. In an interview with IndieWire, he pointed out that he is still a beloved actor because his classic movies are always on television.

“Man, I’ve been making movies for almost 40 years, and every few years when I do a movie, they say I’m coming back,” Murphy told IndieWire. “I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s how you want to spin it.’ I’ve been making movies for almost 40 years. And my movies have made so much money. The whole comeback and stuff, you can’t really say that.”

Murphy also insisted that the two sequels he is working on are things he has always been interested in doing. He’s not just doing them to cash in on nostalgia.

“Absolutely things that I want to do,” he said. “Dolemite was in development for 15 years. Beverly Hills Cop, over 10 years; Coming to America, five or six years. Everything kind of came together all at the same time.”

Dolemite Is My Name is now streaming on Netflix.

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Critics Choice Association