Keke Palmer and Eddie Murphy Reunite in Prime’s “The Pickup” After First Meeting Years Ago
Keke Palmer co-stars alongside Eddie Murphy in their latest Amazon Prime film, in what will mark the two actors first on-screen collaboration, but the pair have known each other long before ever stepping behind a camera together.
The Pickup
“The Pickup” stars Palmer and Murphy and a slew of other noteworthy actors (including Eva Longoria and Pete Davidson) in an action-comedy heist that involves two armored truck drivers who are ambushed by a group of career criminals during their routine cash pickup. Murphy plays one of the drivers, and Palmer is the mastermind behind the orchestrated cash ‘pickup’ heist. The movie hit the streaming platform on August 6th, and the magnetism between Palmer and Murphy is palpable throughout, and is also one of the film’s biggest takeaways. Separately, the two are known for their skills as comedy actors, and while there is a lot of that going on in “The Pickup,” it’s also one of the most action-based roles either of them has taken on, as well as Palmer’s first time playing a villain/antagonist.
A Friendship Before Fame
Despite it being their first movie together, Keke Palmer and Eddie Murphy first met nearly two decades ago. Speaking with PEOPLE while promoting the new film, Palmer revealed that being best friends with the Murphy daughters, back when she was a teenager, she and the Murphys used to regularly visit each other’s houses for sleepovers and dinner parties. One day, the Murphys invited Palmer over for dinner at their dad’s house, and she confessed, “I forgot for five seconds that [their] dad was Eddie freaking Murphy.” She remembers attending the dinner, waiting for Murphy to arrive, when all of a sudden, he walks downstairs in his pajamas while wailing on the guitar. Quite the entrance, one that clearly left an impression on the rising actor, as she admitted, “working with him, I had that in the back of my mind and I was like, he probably doesn’t remember that.”
Full Circle Moment
Now, the two are colleagues and share the screen in what Palmer calls “a dream come true.” Eddie Murphy also praised Palmer for her role in the film – and her career trajectory in general – saying he thinks of her almost as a younger version of himself, as evidenced by her skills as a comedian and actor as well as the bold and tenacious way she carries herself. And even though Murphy may not remember his first meeting with Keke Palmer the same way she does, it’s doubtful he’ll forget their shared performance in “The Pickup” – now streaming on Prime Video.
