Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall claim Paramount ‘forced’ them to cast a white actor in ‘Coming to America. On Monday, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to promote the long-awaited Coming to America sequel, Coming 2 America.
During the interview, they also revealed that Paramount Pictures forced them to cast a white actor in the original 1988 film. That actor was Louie Anderson, who played Maurice.
“I love Louie, but I think we were forced to put Louie in it,” said Hall. “We were forced to put in a white person.”
Murphy also recalled Paramount Pictures executives insisting that the film not have an all black cast. He said, “They were like, ‘There has to be a white person in the movie.’ I was like, ‘What?’ So who was the funniest white guy around? We knew Louie was cool, so that's how Louie got in the movie.”
Hall claims that the studio actually gave them a list of white actors to choose from. “It was official,” said Hall. “I had a list. They gave me a list with three white guys. They said, “Who would you rather work with?’ I said Louie.”
Anderson also appears in the sequel film, which comes out March 5th on Amazon Prime Video.
“I love Louie, but I think we were forced to put Louie in it,” said Hall. “We were forced to put in a white person.”
Murphy also recalled Paramount Pictures executives insisting that the film not have an all black cast. He said, “They were like, ‘There has to be a white person in the movie.’ I was like, ‘What?’ So who was the funniest white guy around? We knew Louie was cool, so that's how Louie got in the movie.”
Hall claims that the studio actually gave them a list of white actors to choose from. “It was official,” said Hall. “I had a list. They gave me a list with three white guys. They said, “Who would you rather work with?’ I said Louie.”
Anderson also appears in the sequel film, which comes out March 5th on Amazon Prime Video.
