Eddie Murphy is making his return to the big screen after four long years away with this month's Mr. Church, a 1970s-era drama from Driving Miss Daisy director Bruce Beresford. The celebrated Saturday Night Live alum stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show Thursday to not only chat about the film, but also reveal a few pop culture phenomenon of which he's acutely (and hilariously) unaware.
First up: critically acclaimed noise rock quartet One Direction. "Well they're for teenagers though," Murphy insisted when outed as someone who has no idea who they are. "Right? Y'all cannot imagine me sitting at home going, 'Put on One Direction for me!' I'm sure my 14, 16 year old know who One Direction is."
When teased further, Murphy got playfully defensive. "I know what's going on," he said. "I'm up on it. I don't know that but I know what's going on!" To test him, Ellen then hit him with a question about the depressing modern ritual known as #ThrowbackThursday. Murphy had never heard of that nonsense either. To demonstrate, Ellen hit the audience with a throwback shot of a young Eddie Murphy. "Where did you find that funny-ass picture?" Murphy said. "That is hysterical. Is that me? Is that my head on someone?"
Lack of One Direction knowledge aside, Murphy has some decidedly big-ass plans for life after Mr. Church. As he revealed to Variety at the film's ArcLight Hollywood premiere Tuesday, those plans most likely do not include a return to comedy. "When do they think they will hear me say something funny [in the future]?" Murphy said of fans' appreciation for his blockbuster comedies. "I don't know because from here, I'm going back to the backyard to chill."
Mr. Church hits theaters Sept. 16.
