Award show season is upon us, and the world of nominations, accolades, and snubs will always give folks things to debate about. In an new appearance on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, Ryan Reynolds reignited a conversation about one of Eddie Murphy‘s most iconic comedic performances, saying that it was unjustly overlooked by The Academy.
The episode led into a conversation about Reynolds wanting to see more comedies being recognized by the storied award show. When asked about the Oscars’ all-time biggest snub, the Deadpool actor said, “One of the greatest, most, greatest injustices is that Eddie Murphy doesn’t have an Oscar for The Nutty Professor.” Check out the episode below.
The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, which starred Jerry Lewis, and is based on a university professor named Sherman Klump (Murphy) who is obese. The professor develops a weight-loss pharmaceutical in hopes of slimming down and scoring his love interest. However, the drug was merely experimental, and viewers are taken along for the ride as Klump discovers its unpredictable side effects.
Although Murphy didn’t take home the Oscar win for his role in the film, The Nutty Professor won in the Best Makeup category at the 69th Academy Awards. Murphy was also nominated at the 54th Golden Globe Awards in the Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy category for his Sherman Klump role. The only Oscar nod Murphy has received in his career is for Best Supporting Actor in Dreamgirls in 2007.
Despite the snub, the Norbit star still sees his role in The Nutty Professor as the work he is the most proud of in his career. In an interview with The New York Times, he shared his reasoning, saying, “For me there’s no comparison. I like Bowfinger, but Nutty Professor — that stuff is real. Those makeups that Rick Baker did, that turn you into another person and there’s no sign of me. I could walk in a room, and a person wouldn’t even know it was me.
He continued, “Let’s put it this way: I like Bowfinger, but I could think of 20 other actors that could have played that role. I can’t think of another person that could do Nutty Professor.”
