There's a good reason why Eddie Murphy portrays multiple characters in so many of his movies. He first took on several roles for the 1988 film Coming to America, and the 2021 sequel Coming 2 America marks the seventh time that he's worn prosthetics to appear as several different individuals. Murphy's Saturday Night Live background may seem the like obvious inspiration, but it was actually a big screen icon that motivated him to be more ambitious.
In Coming to America, Murphy stars as the kind-hearted Prince Akeem Joffer, who moves from Africa to New York City in search of love. He also portrays three Brooklyn residents named Clarence, Saul, and Randy Watson, all of whom have big personalities. From 1995 to 2000, Murphy's multi-character performances became a trend, evidenced by comedies like Vampire in Brooklyn, The Nutty Professor, Bowfinger, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. Since the 1997 film Norbit, however, Murphy has distanced himself from the schtick and focused more on singular performances. With Coming 2 America, he returns to his comedic roots and reprises every character from the original film.
According to numerous reports, the English actor Peter Sellers inspired Murphy to portray multiple characters in Coming to America. When Murphy was cast on Saturday Night Live as a teenager during the early '80s, he was already well-versed in classic Sellers performances, and subsequently transformed into a movie star because of his comedic timing and versatility. Murphy was particularly entertained by the 1964 Stanley Kubrick movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, in which Sellers appears as a British officer, the President of the United States, and the titular character who is a former Nazi. Sellers also starred as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther movie franchise, and his skill set ultimately inspired Murphy to incorporate multi-character screwball comedy into films like Coming to America, Coming 2 America, and several in between.
Since Coming to America was such a massive box office hit, Murphy had enough industry clout to experiment further in the '90s. By portraying several characters in The Nutty Professor - both male and female - he could show off his talent while providing accessible, family-friendly comedy. By 2000, the bit led to another box office hit with Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, though it became evident that moviegoers were ready for a career shift, which Murphy recognized by taking on a voice role as Donkey in Shrek. In 2002, he starred as Trey Sellars in the buddy cop movie Showtime, with his character's name being a subtle homage to the aforementioned Sellers.
For Coming 2 America, Murphy's various character reprisals make sense because of the original film's popularity. Plus, the roles allow him to capitalize upon the on-going '80s nostalgia trend, all the while showing how Clarence, Saul, and Randy Watson have or haven't evolved. Murphy is one of the most respected stand-up comedians of all-time, and has even acknowledged that many of his '80s bits haven't aged particularly well. By portraying numerous characters in Coming 2 America, he's able to once again challenge himself creatively while strengthening his legacy as a comedic performer.