Dan Aykroyd Says ‘I Wouldn’t Choose to Do Blackface’ Today, 40 Years After Doing It in ‘Trading Places’: ‘Nor Would I Be Allowed to Do It’

Dan Akyroyd admitted in a recent interview with The Daily Beast that he probably would not put on Blackface for a movie role today like he did 40 years ago in the blockbuster comedy Trading Places. Akyroyd starred in the John Landis-directed film as a rich investment broker who switches lives with a broke con artist, played by Eddie Murphy. Akyroyds character appears in Blackface and sports dreadlocks and a Caribbean accent during one scene set on New Years Eve.

I was in Blackface in that film, and I probably couldnt get away with it now, Aykroyd said. Eddie and I were improvising there. Eddie is a Black man and his entourage were all Black people, and I dont think they batted an eye. There was no objection then; nobody said anything. It was just a good comic beat that was truthful to the story.

I probably wouldnt choose to do a Blackface part, nor would I be allowed to do it, Aykroyd continued. I probably wouldnt be allowed to do a Jamaican accent, white face or Black. In these days were living in, all thats out the window. I would be hard-pressed to do an English accent and get away with it. Theyd say, Oh, youre not English, you cant do it.

The Trading Places cast also included Jamie Lee Curtis, who presented Murphy with the Cecile B. Demille award at the Golden Globes earlier this year. The film grossed $120 million at the worldwide box office, a big win for Paramount Pictures at the time, as the production budget was $15 million. The film was one of Murphys early box office hits. It arrived right on the heels of 1982s 48 Hrs., both of which turned Murphy into a comedy movie star.

[Eddie] was just starting out and developing his comedic gift and comedic voice. To see and be a part of a talent emerging like that was part of film history, Aykroyd said. Jamie Lee Curtis and I became good friends too, and we remain so to this day.

Murphy appeared in Beverly Hills Cop the following year, which grossed an even bigger $319 million worldwide and solidified his leading man chops.