Axel F star Kevin Bacon: 'Eddie Murphy is up there with Nicholson and Streep'

And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com ahead of the film's release, Bacon said that he "loved" getting the chance to work with Murphy, before going on to shower his co-star with praise.

"He's a very relaxed and a very immediate sort of actor, you know, it's like... he feels like very unrehearsed and very real," he explained.

"And that's good. Because I think that really keeps me on my toes, you know. I have to be ready for anything that he's going to, kind of, throw at me.

"And yeah, it was really fun to be in scenes with him," he added. "He truly is a world icon, and I put him up there with working with [Jack] Nicholson and Meryl Streep, and, you know, [Clint] Eastwood. I've worked with a lot of great, kind of, iconic people and he's definitely one of them."

Another actor who was delighted to star opposite Murphy in the new film was Joseph Gordon-Levitt – who plays Axel's new partner Detective Sam Abbott and who had admired the actor for as long as he can remember.

Read more:

• Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F review – Eddie Murphy is electric in fun legacy sequel
• Returning Beverly Hills Cop stars: “It was pretty much a family reunion”

"When I was a little kid, it was my older brother that was a massive fan of Eddie Murphy," he explained. "And he would watch him on Saturday Night Live or watch his stand up comedy or in movies like Beverly Hills Cop – and I was probably too young really to be watching those things.

"But your older sibling, the stuff they like takes on a certain mystique," he continued. "You know, there's an aura... it's a little bit forbidden. But it makes it all the more attractive and cool.

"And so for me, Eddie Murphy is emblematic of that feeling of wanting to understand and like the stuff that my older brother liked. And so yeah, when I got the chance to play the new sidekick, opposite Eddie in Beverly Hills Cop... I was quite happy!"

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is streaming on Netflix from Wednesday 3rd July 2024 – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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