Last night (March 5), after the momentous release of Amazon Prime’s Coming 2 America, the Internet erupted with comparisons between the film’s lead Eddie Murphy, and Kevin Hart — who did not appear in the movie.
Both comedian’s names trended together on Twitter as users discussed who has the better filmography. The sequel to Murphy’s 1988 Coming to America is his 40th feature film. Hart has appeared in over 45 flicks, including his stand-up specials.
“Eddie Murphy got a better filmography than Kevin Hart???? Don’t make me laugh,” one Twitter user wrote.
Another tweeter felt the two shouldn’t be compared because they’re not on the same level. “Don’t ever put Eddie Murphy and Kevin Hart in the same tier,” he wrote.
While Murphy’s ascent to stardom began in the ‘80s, Hart’s more contemporary run started in the early 2000s. The two appeared alongside one another in the 2008 science fiction movie, Meet Dave.
Murphy won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as James “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls. He has five other Golden Globe nominations and a slew of recognition from Film Critics Association Awards.
Hart has received his share of accolades, as well. He won a BET award in 2005 for his comedy special Laugh at My Pain and a Teen Choice Award for his performance in 2014’s Ride Along.
“Without Eddie Murphy, there is no Kevin Hart,” one Tweeter shared. Others highlighted Murphy’s vocal roles in animated movies like Shrek and Mulan being better than Hart’s catalog.
In a 2019 interview with Jimmy Fallon, Hart referred to Murphy as his “comedic hero” and said he “loves everything about him.” The two also recently joined each other to joke around on Hart’s SiriusXM podcast Comedy Gold Minds with Kevin Hart. Murphy revealed that he plans to make a return to the stage once the pandemic is over.
“My plan was to do Dolemite, ‘Saturday Night Live,’ Coming 2 America and then do stand-up. And then the pandemic hit, and it shut the whole sh*t down,” Murphy said. “Hey, when the pandemic is over and it’s safe for everybody to go out and do it, then the plan is to do it.”