Sidney Poitier Told Eddie Murphy to Skip Dramatic Role: ‘You Are Not Denzel’

When filmmakers began discussing a project based on The Autobiography of Malcolm X, they approached Eddie Murphy about a role. It could have redefined Murphy as an actor. Still, according to the new Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, as reported by People, Sidney Poitier advised the comedian to take a pass.

“I don’t know if it was an insult or a compliment, or something,” Murphy explained. “They were talking about doing Malcolm X. Norman Jewison was putting it together, and they were gonna use The Autobiography of Malcolm X by (Roots author) Alex Haley. And they approached me about playing Alex Haley.”

Around that time, Murphy bumped into Poitier and told him about the prospect of taking on the Haley role. Murphy imitated Poitier’s Bahamian accent when relaying his response: “You are not Denzel, and you are not Morgan. You are a breath of fresh air. And don’t fuck with that.” 

“And I was like, ‘What?’” said Murphy.

Murphy didn’t end up playing Haley, so he either took Poitier’s advice or director Spike Lee decided to go in another direction. (Jewison’s version of Malcolm X never got off the ground after Lee and others protested that a Black director should helm the film.) 

Number One on the Call Sheet reveals other advice that Murphy received from entertainment legends over his career. Some of it is simple, such as when heavyweight boxing champ Larry Holmes advised Murphy, “Don’t forget where you came from.”

Then there was James Brown, the iconic R&B singer who became one of Murphy’s first breakout characters on Saturday Night Live. “James Brown told me, he asked me, he told me I should stop cursing,” Murphy said. 

“You want to be in this business for a long time,” Murphy said, imitating Brown’s rasp, “you should stop that cursing.”

Brown also asked Murphy if he had a million dollars. When Murphy said that he did, Brown refused to believe it. “You ain't got no million dollars,” Brown said. “And if you do got a million dollars, you take it and bury it in the woods.”

That was one bit of showbiz wisdom that Murphy wasn’t buying. Why would he take cash money and bury it in the woods? “The government will take it from you. So bury it,” Brown advised. 

Again, that made no sense to Murphy — couldn’t the government simply take his land? Sure, said Brown. “But they won’t know where the money is.” 

Murphy says that older Black entertainers didn’t have much useful advice for him because Hollywood had changed. He was one of the first young, Black success stories, barely out of his teens when he hit it big. “I was in uncharted waters,” Murphy explained. “For Sidney and all those guys, when I showed up, it was something kind of new. They didn’t have a reference for me.”