In the most-nominated film of the year, Dreamgirls, Eddie Murphy plays James "Thunder" Early, a character who's part James Brown, part Little Richard, and all Eddie Murphy.
Eddie has received an Oscar® nomination for Best Supporting Actor—his first ever—for his work in this musical. Don't count this comedian out—he already walked away with the Golden Globe® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role!
Like the rest of the cast, Eddie did all his own singing in the film, but even he admitted that the pop albums he put out in the '80s weren't a good example of what he could do. "I don't know if 'Party All the Time' gave you any [idea] of what was coming—that this was coming 20 years later," he joked.
