When you’re making the fourth film in a long-running franchise, it can be hard to keep things funny and fresh. For Taylour Paige, though, her objective in taking on the role of estranged daughter to Eddie Murphy’s Axel Foley in the latest installment of the “Beverly Hills Cop” series was to keep things light and produce entertainment that does the same for others. Speaking to Empire for a recent profile, Paige said desire comes from how she sees the world right now.
“The world often feels like it’s in a chronic coma,” Paige said. “And without being too grandiose, I want to be a part of something which helps people to snap out of it.”
Part of why she thinks “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” will do that is because of the effect her co-star Eddie Murphy had on her. She said, “I grew up watching ‘The Nutty Professor’ and ‘Dr. Dolittle.’ It was like I knew him — it was surreal.”
Drawing on him for inspiration, she often knew her scenes were working when she could see Murphy giggling.
“The objective was to try and get the man who made the world laugh to laugh,” said Paige. “I found it quite fun to crack him.”
This is not the first time Paige has relied on those around her to feed her artistry. On her previous films, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “Zola”, she worked with the likes of Viola Davis, Colman Domingo, and the late Chadwick Boseman, all of whom, she told Empire, were integral to her development.
“Those films changed my life,” she said. “Being surrounded by such incredible artists and people who think in absurd ways like me, and feeling both seen and understood, was significant in my expansion.”
In discussing future projects, she said to Empire, “I want to put beautiful things into the world, to stir something up. I’d like to be a part of the awakeners. We’re only here for a blip. Help your brother, help your sister, and do the thing — whatever that thing is — well. Do it right and do it purely. And if it’s not right, hurry up and get off that path.”
