*Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall stopped by “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to promote their upcoming film “Coming 2 America,” the hotly anticipated sequel to the 1988 classic, out later this week.
During the conversation, Kimmel asked how fellow comedian Louie Anderson came to be a part of the original film. According to both Murphy and Hall, Paramount demand a white actor appear in the film because the movie was too black.
“I love Louie but I think we were forced to put Louie in it,” Hall said. “No, I think we were forced to put a white person.”
Watch Murphy and Hall tell it via the clip above.
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“Yeah, Paramount was like … because the whole cast was Black and this was back in the 80s, so it was like ‘We have to have a white person, there has to be a white person in the movie!’” Murphy said. “[We were like] ‘What?’ So, who is the funniest white guy around right now? And then Louie, we knew him and was cool with him, so that’s how Louie got in the movie.”
Hall said he was given a list of “three white guys” from the studio but declined to reveal who was on the list.
The original 1988 film follows Murphy as Prince Akeem from the fictional African nation, Zamunda, as he sets off on a journey to Queens, New York, to himself a wife. Murphy starred opposite Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, Shari Headley, and John Amos.
For the sequel, Akeem will return to America 30 years later with hopes of finding his long-lost son, played by Jermaine Fowler.
Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem and his trusted confidante Semmi (Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York – where it all began.
Murphy leads an all-star cast including Jermaine Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, with Wesley Snipes and James Earl Jones. Also starring John Amos, Teyana Taylor, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Paul Bates, Nomzamo Mbatha, Bella Murphy.
“Coming 2 America” will debut on Amazon Prime Video on March 5.
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