Eddie Murphy’s work falls under many different categories, but horror, for the most part, isn’t one of them. That isn’t to say he didn’t dabble in the genre a couple of times over the years. In 1995, Murphy teamed up with Wes Craven for Vampire in Brooklyn, though that was more of a horror-comedy than a straight horror film. And how do we feel about 2003’s The Haunted Mansion? It’s got ghosts, that’s for sure. However, it’s also a Disney flick geared toward children; not exactly something you’d expect to see on a list of great horror movies.

But according to several sources, Murphy had the opportunity to play a legendary horror villain a few years before Vampire in Brooklyn and turned it down. If the rumors are to be believed, Murphy was the number one choice for the titular role in 1992’s Candyman. Based on Clive Barker’s short story “The Forbidden,” the movie version delves into the legend of a Black man who was murdered over his relationship with a wealthy white woman. Whenever the name “Candyman” is said five times into a mirror, the hook-handed spirit of the dead man appears to exact revenge on whoever dares to speak his name.

Why Didn’t Eddie Murphy Play Candyman?

As for why Murphy supposedly didn’t end up doing it, one explanation is that the filmmakers couldn’t afford to pay him what he was asking. Another suggestion was that Murphy wasn’t tall enough to play the part. Tony Todd, who ultimately landed the role that was said to have been intended for Murphy, stands six-foot-five, whereas Murphy is only about five-foot-nine. But none of that appears to be true, and it may have been Todd who inadvertently sparked the rumor in the first place.

In an interview from Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition release of Candyman, Todd claimed that the people at Propaganda Films, who produced the movie, were initially pushing for an “Eddie Murphy type” for the lead role—not Murphy specifically, though. He went on to explain that director Bernard Rose wanted a serious actor instead. For his part, Rose insists that Murphy’s name was never actually in the mix at any point. “That whole bulls—t thing that’s around about Eddie Murphy, there’s not a shred of truth to it,” he told NME in 2022. “It was never even talked about.”

If you ever run into Eddie Murphy in public, be sure to ask him about the whole Candyman ordeal.