Inside Eddie Murphy’s 14-piece Coming to America makeup, as Rick Baker remembers it
Makeup maestro Rick Baker shares a tale of Eddie Murphy’s grit beneath a ton of makeup — and the way he proved it might catch you off guard.
Before cameras ever rolled on the barbershop scenes in Coming to America, Rick Baker sat Eddie Murphy down for a makeup test that would turn him into Saul, an elderly white Jewish man. The full 14-piece appliance wasn’t even on yet — the back of Murphy’s neck was still uncovered — when Baker pressed a Caucasian-toned cheek piece into place. Instead of flinching at the surreal sight, Murphy leaned into the mirror and started working his face, testing how the new skin moved.
“This is a good sign, because I knew he’s not going to be one of those actors who go, ‘I can’t move,’ when you put something on them.”
Murphy, impressed by how real it looked, told Baker the prosthetic beat his go-to impressions, which he worried could veer into stereotypes. Still in test makeup, he immediately asked to improvise a scene with someone from his entourage — a spur-of-the-moment riff that helped lock in Saul’s voice and rhythms.
Finding the character
Baker says that instant curiosity became their ritual on future transformations: Murphy would sit in the chair, explore the look on camera, and organically discover how the character sounded and behaved. It’s a tactile, actor- first process Baker contrasts with performing in front of a green screen covered in motion-capture dots — a different skill set entirely, he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Asked about the wave of new tools in effects work — including AI — Baker said his practical creations still hold up, and while technology has raced ahead, the two can absolutely coexist. In his view, the smart blend of old-school makeup and modern techniques can produce something creatively electric.
A new honor in Switzerland
That philosophy now sits alongside a fresh accolade: on Wednesday night at the 79th Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Baker received the festival’s Vision Award, taking home a Golden Leopard. It’s a new distinction for a career already credited with seven Academy Awards and decades of movie monsters, mythical beasts, and jaw-dropping transformations.