Eddie Murphy loves Christmas, even more than the Chris Carver character he plays in Prime Video’s new holiday movie, Candy Cane Lane.
“Every year my house is bigger than Chris Carver — my house is all over Christmas,” Murphy, 62, tells PEOPLE in a recent joint interview with Candy Cane Lane actress Tracee Ellis Ross. “We are talking about one behemoth tree. When you enter the house, this tree must be . . .”
Ellis Ross interjects to finish his thought, jokingly saying, “He saw Rockefeller [Center Christmas] tree one year and said, ‘I want it.’ ”
While Rockefeller Center’s 2023 tree, a Norway spruce, stands 80 feet tall and weighs 12 tons, Murphy’s tree in his Los Angeles home is shorter but still impressively large compared to most indoor Christmas trees.
“Our tree is 20 feet tall,” Murphy says, adding that a ladder is needed to decorate it. “Where there is a tree, the roof is open. The tree does not rise that high, but if we wanted to [go bigger], the roof opens. I have a convertible house.”
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Murphy, who kicked off 2023 by accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes for Lifetime Achievement in the Entertainment Industry in January, has channeled his fondness for the holiday through several roles throughout his career.
In the 1980s, Murphy starred in Christmas movies Saturday night live skits as his popular character Mr. Robinson. When Murphy was the host SNL for the third time in December 2019, he participated in the Home for the Holidays sketch, the Holiday Baking Championship sketch and the North Pole Report segment.
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The veteran comedian also voiced Donkey, his beloved Shrek character, in the 2007 Christmas TV special. Shrek the Halls.
IN Candy Cane Lanewhich premiered Dec. 1, Murphy’s character sets out to win his neighborhood’s best-decorated house contest.
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While shopping for ornaments, she accidentally “signs her life away” and an evil elf casts a magic spell that brings chaos.
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Source: HIS Education