- 2009: Starred in the family comedy "Imagine That"
- 2008: Played a human-shaped spaceship controlled by 100 little aliens in the comedy "Meet Dave"
- 2007: Played multiple roles in "Norbit"; co-written with his brother Charlie Murphy
- 2007: Reprised role of the Donkey for "Shrek the Third"
- 2006: Earned rave reviews as soul singer James 'Thunder' Earlyin in the feature adaptation of the Tony-winning musical, "Dreamgirls"; received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
- 2004: Reprised role of the Donkey in "Shrek 2"
- 2003: Starred in the family film, "Daddy Day Care"
- 2003: Co-starred in Disney's "The Haunted Mansion"
- 2002: Co-starred with Owen Wilson in the feature adaptation of the 1960s TV series, "I Spy"
- 2002: Co-starred in the comedy film "The Adventures of Pluto Nash"
- 2001: Reprised the title role for the sequel "Dr. Dolittle 2"
- 2001: Voiced the Donkey in the DreamWorks animated feature "Shrek"
- 2000: Reprised dual role of Sherman Klump/Buddy Love for "Nutty Professor II: The Klumps"; also played multiple family members
- 1999: Played dual roles in the Frank Oz directed "Bowfinger"; co-starring and scripted by Steve Martin
- 1999: Voiced the lead character in the animated series "The PJs" (Fox, 1999-2000; WB, 2000-2001); also executive produced
- 1999: Co-starred with Martin Lawrence in the comedy "Life"
- 1998: Played a doctor who discovers that he has the ability to talk to animals in the remake of "Dr. Dolittle"
- 1996: Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (June)
- 1996: Performed multiple roles, as well as the title character in the remake of "The Nutty Professor"
- 1994: Reprised signature role of Axel Foley in "Beverly Hills Cop III"
- 1992: Played Marcus Graham, a hotshot advertising executive in "Boomerang"; received story credit
- 1991: Created the short-lived CBS sitcom "The Royal Family"; show ended with the sudden death of series star Redd Foxx
- 1990: Executive produced first TV-movie, "The Kid Who Loved Christmas"
- 1990: Reprised role opposite Nick Nolte for the sequel "Another 48 Hrs."
- 1989: First film as director, "Harlem Nights"; also produced, wrote and starred
- 1989: Made producing debut with the CBS comedy, "What's Alan Watching?"
- 1988: Played multiple characters in the comedy film, "Coming to America"; received story credit
- 1987: Reprised role of Axel Foley for "Beverly Hills Cop II"; received first writing credit
- 1987: Producing debut, the concert film "Eddie Murphy Raw"
- 1986: Released debut album How Could It Be, with the hit single, "Party All the Time"
- 1984: First full-fledged starring vehicle, "Beverly Hills Cop"
- 1983: Co-starred with Dan Aykroyd for "Trading Places"
- 1983: Headlined the concert film, "Delirious"
- 1982: Made big screen debut in "48 Hrs." alongside Nick Nolte
- 1980: Debuted as a series regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live"
- 1976: Began performing stand-up comedy at age 15
- Worked as emcee for a youth club talent show




