'Naked' Star Marlon Wayans Reveals How Seeing Eddie Murphy On Screen Made His Career Feel Possible

Marlon Wayans next stars in Netflix's 'Naked,' out later this month.

Marlon Wayans stars alongside Regina Hall in Netflix's forthcoming Naked, a new romantic comedy from Fifty Shades of Black director Michael Tiddes. The film—based on the 2000 Swedish comedy Naken—was also written by Wayans, Cory Koller, and Rick Alvarez. Ahead of the film's release later this month, Wayans participated in Netflix's #FirstTimeISawMe discussion on the importance of representation in all facets of entertainment and revealed how seeing Eddie Murphy—and later, Richard Pryor—on screen for the first time made him feel like his career could be possible.

"It wasn’t until Eddie Murphy did I see, for me, the proper representation of the superstar that I wanted to be," he says in the clip above. "To see that and then watch Richard Pryor, I saw his special and I was like, 'Oh my god, you mean I can do that?'"

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In Naked, Wayans plays a man who wakes up clothing-free in an elevator on the day of his wedding and is forced to relive the hour before his ceremony over and over again in true Groundhog Day fashion. The comedy drops Aug. 11 and also stars Dennis Haysbert, Loretta Devine, and Eliza Coupe.

"The response I've gotten from fans worldwide to my films on Netflix has been overwhelming, and I'm thrilled to be working with them on an original film," Wayans said in a press release, adding that he's excited to once again be working alongside Regina Hall.

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