Eddie Murphy thinks he's "transcended" racism in the movie industry.
Eddie Murphy
The 59-year-old actor has enjoyed an incredibly successful career in Hollywood and although he acknowledges that diversity remains an issue in the film business, it's never stopped him from starring in a movie.
He explained: "In terms of my work and my career, race has never been an issue.
"I’ve been making movies for 40 years and never once could I not get a movie made because I was black. I transcended that stuff.
"But that’s not to say I walked out of heaven and into Hollywood. I’m a black man who was born in America; I’m African-American.
"Growing up in this country, there’s no way you’re not going to have to face some s***."
Eddie concedes that the film business is still "run" by white men and that Hollywood needs to become more inclusive.
He told Radio Times: "It’s been this way for years and years, but it’s not just African-Americans; it’s also about women and other minorities, too.
"White men run this business. It’s always been this way."
Eddie also claimed that comedy is "going through a period of political correctness " at the moment.
But ultimately, the actor conceded that "funny is still funny".
Speaking about the comedy landscape, Eddie explained: "Times change and tastes change, but funny is still funny.
"Right now, we’re going through a period of political correctness and people are a little more uptight about comedy - but there’s no expiration date on funny."
Eddie recently revealed he wanted to "remind" people he's still funny before returning to stand-up comedy.
The film star is widely regarded as one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time, but Eddie thought he needed to embark on some other projects before he returned to touring.
Eddie explained: "When I got up off the couch and did this little patch of work, it was, let’s do 'Dolemite'. Let’s do 'Saturday Night Live'. Let’s do 'Coming 2 America'. Because I want to go do stand-up again, but I don’t want to just pop up out there when people hadn’t seen me be really funny in a while."
Tagged in Eddie Murphy