Beverly Hills Cop was truly one of the greatest comedies of the 1980s, and it boasted an incredibly talented cast of comedic performers. While this was the movie that turned Eddie Murphy from a notable comedian into an international superstar, it also featured many iconic performances from the rest of his acclaimed cast. Although for some Beverly Hills Cop Cast members, this may have been their best known role, when digging into the backlogs of their filmographies, it’s shocking how many hidden comedic gems there are just waiting to be discovered.
The legacy of the US Beverly Hills Cop Franchise was absolutely huge, as it not only had one of the biggest synth movie scores of the 1980s, but it also helped revitalize the buddy cop genre for a new era. Murphy’s characterization of Axel Foley was packed with humorBut just as important were his supporting actors, who turned this from a good comedy into a truly great one. With the recent success of the Netflix legacy sequel Beverly Hills Cop: Axel FIt’s clear interest in the franchise has not wavered in the last four decades.
10
Paul Reiser (Jeffrey Friedman)
The Thing About My People (2005)
Paul Reiser played Detective Jeffrey Friedman in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise and has been an important part of the series since its inception. Det. Friedman often covered up for Axl Pauli’s antics and used to try to take the heat off him when Inspector Douglas Todd came to ask questions. An acclaimed actor and comedian, Reiser was known for his sitcom roles in My two dads And Crazy about youFavorite films like Aliens And WhiplashAnd even had a recent role as Dr. Sam Owen on Stranger things.
Razor’s talents also extended to writing and producing, as he was a major creative force behind The thing about my people. Reiser wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama, which focused on how an everyday illness affects the marriage of an elderly couple and their grown children. Reiser played Ben Kleinman, the man trying to mend his broken relationship with his wife Muriel after she was only given six months to live in the moving comedy with lots of heart and emotion.
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Jonathan Banks (Zack)
48 hours. (1982)
Although Jonathan Banks’ filmography was packed with recognizable movies, and he appeared in everything from Airplane! to GremlinsHis most recognizable role came later as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking bad And Better call Saul. However, before embracing a life of crime in a crowded New Mexico, Banks played a major villain Beverly Hills Cop When he portrayed Zack, Victor Maitland’s right-hand man. Zack was the one who killed Mikey Tandino and, therefore, stood as Axel Foley’s nemesis.
however, Beverly Hills Cop It’s not the first time that Banks and Eddie Murphy have worked togetherAs he also played the minor role of Inspector Algren in Walter Hill’s classic action comedy 48 hours. Like yet another buddy cop action movie, 48 hours. was almost a precursor to Beverly Hills Cop In Murphy’s career, and it is an interesting connection that Banks was present for both movies. Banks never had to return for the sequels in either series because, in both roles, his character met an untimely death at the opposite end of a gun.
8
James Russo (Mikey Tandino)
We Are No Angels (1989)
James Rousseau Beverly Hills Cop Character, Mickey Tandino, was the instigating factor of the entire franchise, as his early death spurs Axel Foley to investigate his murder. As kids, Mickey and Axel would get into all sorts of trouble. After they were stopped by the police for stealing a Cadillac, Mickey went to juvenile detention, but Axel stayed out of jail, and this was the event that probably turned his life around and laid the foundation for him. To become a cop. This was just one of many important roles for Russo, who appeared in over 150 movies.
One highly underrated movie Rousseau played a role in was We are no angelsA Nile Jordan comedy in which Robert De Niro and Sean Penn played two crooks who pretend to be priests during the Great Depression. Russo played Bobby, a vicious criminal executed by the electric chair who spurs Nero and Penn to make their escape from custody. While We are no angels Was a solid comedy with lots of laughs and good performances, it bombed at the box office because the subject matter was unappealing to religious and non-religious moviegoers, with both groups thinking it wasn’t aimed at them.
7
Bronson Pinchot (Serge)
Risky Business (1983)
Although he only had a few minutes of screen time, Bronson Pinchot’s portrayal of the art gallery salesman Serge was one of the funniest parts of Beverly Hills Cops. With hilarious mannerisms and incredible interactions with Axel Foley, It was thrilling to see Pinchot pop up again in the legacy sequel Beverly Hills Cop: Axel FWhere they meet again at Serge’s pop-up boutique, Serge’s Survival Boutique. While Beverly Hills Cop was Pinchot’s breakout role, it wasn’t his first, as he played a minor role in the Tom Cruise coming-of-age comedy Risky business Only one year before.
Risky business was one of Cruise’s most important earlier roles, as his iconic sunglasses-wearing, underwear dance scene became part of cinema history. Pinchot played Barry in Risky businessPart of the group of friends who go out with Joel (drive around) and get high on marijuana. As a modern satire of capitalism and the way lifestyles and products are marked for people, it is a testament to Pinchot’s career that his first two movies were both truly iconic 1980s releases.
6
Ronnie Cox (Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil)
Harper Valley PTA (1978)
From his acting debut in 1972 Deliverance to his role as Lieutenant Andrew Bogomil in the first two Beverly Hills Cop Cinema, Ronny Cox has had a varied and interesting career. While Bogomil always tried to do things by the book, he also showed a willingness to bend the rules as he avoided violating the police department by letting it be known that it was Axel Foley who was largely responsible for the cocaine bust at the end From the first film. Cox delivered a powerful performance, as seen in his lead role in the 1978 comedy Harper Valley PTA.
As a movie based on the classic country hit song of the same name written by Tom T. Hall and performed by Jeannie C. Riley, Harper Valley PTA Explore a widowed mother’s controversial meeting with a small-town Parent-Teacher Association board. Cox played Will Newton, a wealthy PTA member who disagrees with the snobbish board president and holds a candle to Stella Johnson, the controversial, carefree single mother. As a comedy with fun, it shows how much thematic depth there was in Hall’s original three-minute song that it was able to effectively carry an entire film.
5
Steven Berkoff (Victor Maitland)
Absolute Beginners (1986)
Steven Berkoff portrayed Victor Maitland, the main antagonist of Beverly Hills Copwho ordered the murder of Axel Foley’s childhood best friend, Mikey Tandino. Playing Maitland would not be Berkoff’s only villainous role, as he notably also played the Russian general Orlov in the James Bond film. Octopus And like the cruel Russian Colonel Podovsky in Rambo: First Blood Part II. Although these are some of Berkoff’s most memorable performances, he has a vast and varied filmography in many genres.
Berkoff’s one underrated comedy role was in Julien Temple’s Lighthearted Musical Absolute beginnerswhose title theme song was famously a hit for David Bowie in 1986. Featuring appearances by Bowie and The Kinks frontman Ray Davies, this star-studded musical explored 1950s pop culture in the UK just as rock ‘n’ roll was starting to Take over the cultural zeitgeist. Steven Berkoff played the fanatic in Absolute beginnersA controversial figure who preaches fascist ideology while opposing racial diversity in London shows that while many look back on that era with nostalgia, in many ways it was far from progressive.
4
Lisa Eilbacher (Jenny Summers)
On the Right Track (1981)
Lisa Eilbacher played Jenny Summers in Beverly Hills CopAn old Axel Foley and Mikey Tandino’s friend who moved from Detroit to Los Angeles and worked in an art gallery. Knowing of Mickey’s ties to Victor Maitland, Jenny was instrumental in Axel’s avenging his best friend’s legacy. Although Jenny is not a genuine love interest in the movie, her flirtatious interactions with Axel give them an air of romance. Disappointingly, Eilbacher didn’t appear in any of the sequels, and even though she was so crucial in the first one, the franchise has since acted like she never existed.
Beverly Hills Cop was Eilbacher’s most notable role, and she retired in 1995 after a career spent mostly making little-known made-for-TV movies. However, one notable early appearance was in the comedy On the right trackThe feature debut of child actor Gary Coleman, who found success with the sitcom Different strokes. Eilbacher played Jill Klein in One of the right waysThe woman who eventually adopts Colemna’s character Lester, a 10-year-old homeless shoemaker who lived in a locker in Union Station, Chicago.
3
John Ashton (Sergeant John Taggart)
Midnight Run (1988)
John Ashton portrayed Sergeant John Taggart in Beverly Hills Cop And has appeared in every movie in the franchise except Beverly Hills Cop III. As the eventual Beverly Hills Chief of Police, Taggart was an important character throughout the series and assisted Axel Foley in many of his endeavors. sad, Ashton died in 2024 and left behind an impressive body of work full of hilarious comedies, intense action movies, and heartfelt coming-of-age stories.
One of Ashton’s most acclaimed roles outside of Beverly Hills Cop Was like Marvin Dorfler in Midnight run. The classic Robert De Niro action comedy has built a cult following as it tells the story of a bounty hunter pursuing a former mafia accountant. Ashton played the rival bounty hunter, who also tried to get the Duke (Charles Grodin) before Nero’s character. As an enjoyable comedic thriller, Midnight Run was simultaneously funny, exciting, heartwarming and effective.
2
Judge Reinhold (Detective Billy Rosewood)
Strips (1981)
Judge Reinhold, like Detective Billy Rosewood, was a mainstay of the Beverly Hills Cop franchise since its inception and has appeared in every film in the series. As a polite, bumbling and mostly incompetent cop, it was enjoyable to see how Billy’s character came into his own throughout the franchise as he worked his way up to DDO-JSIOC and Detective Sergeant and moved through the ranks following his partner John Taggart Retired. . As a comedian with great talent, Reinhold has consistently taken roles in comedies since the 1980s.
Out of these Beverly Hills Cop series, Reinhold was notable in Fast Times at Ridgemont High And Gremlins. Reinhold’s first hit movie came with the release of Strips In 1981, a classic comedy with great stars like Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and John Candy. Reinhold played Private Elmo Bloom in this action comedy about an immature taxi driver and his teacher friend who enlists in the United States Army.
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Eddie Murphy (Detective Axel Foley)
Trading Places (1983)
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Eddie Murphy needs no introduction. As one of the most famous comedians on the planet, his time is still on Saturday Night Live, Murphy’s role as Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop Catapult him into international superstardom. From there, Murphy reprized the role and led one of the most successful action comedy franchises and won many other iconic parts as well. From comedies like 48 hours., Come to America, Dr. DoolittleAnd, of course, as the voice of the donkey in fearViewers of all ages know and love Murphy’s comedies.
One of Murphy’s greatest triumphs in the 1980s was in the classic comedy Trading places Opposite Dan Aykroyd. Taking over $90 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo), Trading places Shown as one of the biggest stars of this decade, and despite some of the racial jokes aging poorly, it remains one of the most beloved Christmas films of all time. With a career as extraordinary as Murphy’s, it’s hard to boil down his work to just one film, as he has such great parts in action, comedy and even drama roles.
Trading places
Source: Box Office Mojo