Coming to America is a funny love story movie from the US, made in 1988. Eddie Murphy, who thought of the story, also plays the main character. It came out on June 29, 1988. The movie had lots of skilled actors, some already famous and others who became well-known after it was released. That's why it was so successful. Here's a guide to Coming To America Cast.
Let's take a look at the cast of Coming to America.
Eddie Murphy is known as one of Hollywood's top funny guys, partly because of his role in Coming to America. When he acted in this movie, he had just finished making Beverly Hills Cop II and later started many other successful movie series like The Nutty Professor and Dr. Dolittle.
Murphy got his only Oscar nomination so far for his acting in the 2006 movie Dreamgirls, and in 2015, he received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
In 2019, he won an Emmy for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy for hosting an episode of Saturday Night Live, his first time back on the show in a regular role since he left in 1984. He played Prince Akeem again (and other roles) in the sequel, Coming 2 America, in 2021.
As Semmi, Prince Akeem's helpful personal assistant, comedian Arsenio Hall caught the audience's attention so much that he got his own TV variety show the following year. This show went on for six seasons and won two Primetime Emmys.
Since then, Hall has popped up in the acting world now and then. He has also been successful playing different versions of himself, like in the 2017 Netflix movie Sandy Wexler, which is about a Hollywood agent in the '90s and his clients.
The one-of-a-kind James Earl Jones was already famous when he played in Coming to America, bringing a truly kingly vibe as King Joffer.
He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Great White Hope in 1971, and in 2012, he received a special award for his lifelong contributions to film from the Academy.
Jones had the special opportunity to come back to one of his most famous voice roles — that of Darth Vader — in Rogue One, as well as in TV shows like Star Wars: Rebels and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
He also voiced Mufasa again in the 2019 version of The Lion King. Plus, he was also part of the Coming to America 2 cast. Who could be a better match for the royal James Earl Jones than the Jamaican actress Madge Sinclair, who played the graceful Queen Aoleon in Coming to America?
In an interesting twist, Sinclair also voiced Sarabi in the original Lion King movie, acting opposite Jones' Mufasa. Sadly, Sinclair's acting career ended too soon when she passed away at 57 in 1995 after fighting leukemia.
Before she got the big part of Lisa McDowell (coming to america mcdowell's), acting alongside Eddie Murphy in Coming to America, Shari Headley had small roles in two TV shows (The Cosby Show and Miami Vice).
After that, Headley has been acting a lot on daytime TV, getting important parts in shows like Guiding Light, The Bold and the Beautiful, and All My Children.
She also acted in nighttime shows like The Haves and Have Nots and On Becoming a God in Central Florida. She came back to play Lisa again in Coming 2 America.
Is there anywhere he hasn't shown up? Samuel L. Jackson has been in so many projects, if you look him up, you'll see a huge list of movies and shows he's been part of.
Playing the bad guy who tries to rob the restaurant in Coming to America was one of his earliest roles that got noticed, and he's been on a roll ever since.
He got an Oscar nomination for his unforgettable role in Pulp Fiction (1994) and has played the character Nick Fury in lots of Marvel superhero movies. Because he's been in so many movies, Jackson was given a special Oscar in 2022 as a tribute to his work.
Just like a lot of the other actors in Coming to America, Eriq La Salle caught people's attention by playing a snobby, good-looking guy who tries to act more royal than Eddie Murphy's real prince character.
La Salle has kept busy acting, especially on TV. He played Peter Benton for eight years on the show ER, and got nominated for three Emmys because of his great work. He's also been in other well-liked TV shows like Under the Dome. Plus, he had a small role in the highly praised X-Men movie Logan and has directed a lot of TV shows.
Louie Anderson's career was just beginning to shine when he played a laid-back fast-food worker in Coming to America. After two of his shows from the mid-'90s, Life with Louie and The Louie Show, got canceled, some people might have thought his career was over.
But Anderson proved them wrong in 2017 by winning an Emmy for playing the mother character in Baskets. Anderson passed away in 2022 when he was 68 years old, and his last movie was Coming 2 America.
Cuba Gooding Jr. had one of his very first roles in Coming to America, where he's listed as the "Boy Getting Haircut." In this small part, he played an important role that helped highlight the comedy of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, who were both dressed up in funny costumes.
Gooding later impressed everyone with his performance in the 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, which won him an Oscar.
He has been in many well-known movies since then (including Norbit, where he worked with Eddie Murphy again) and got an Emmy nomination for playing O.J. Simpson in the TV show The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Playing Imani Izzi, Vanessa Bell Calloway became famous as the princess who imitated a dog. Starting her acting career at just 8 years old on the show Days of Our Lives, she has been in over 100 projects, nearly as many as Samuel L. Jackson.
She's had memorable roles in TV shows and movies like A Different World, Cheaper by the Dozen, Dexter, Grey's Anatomy, Shameless, This Is Us, and played Michelle Obama's mother in the 2016 movie Southside With You. She came back as Imani in Coming 2 America.
Allison Dean's first big movie was Coming to America, where she played the kind-hearted Patrice who gets close to Arsenio Hall's character.
She's been in a few more movies and shows, like Speed 2: Cruise Control and Tears of the Sun, but has mostly stayed out of the spotlight, except for a few episodes of Girlfriends and a TV movie in 2022 called Zodiac.
John Amos, who played Lisa's dad in Coming to America, was already well-known from his work in the '70s on shows like Maude, Roots, Good Times, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
He's kept acting, with notable appearances on The West Wing and in Madea's Witness Protection. He returned as Cleo in Coming 2 America and joined the cast of the 2019 ABC special that brought back Good Times.
Paul Bates made audiences laugh as Oha, Prince Akeem's serious manservant and bodyguard in Coming to America.
Since then, Bates has had a variety of roles, including in movies like True Romance and Showgirls, and TV shows like Ellen, NYPD Blue, The Grinder, Lethal Weapon, and Son of Zorn. He also reprised his role as Oha in Coming 2 America.
As of today, March 1, 2024, there is no official confirmation of a "Coming to America 3" being in production. However, Eddie Murphy, the star of the first two films, has expressed interest in a potential sequel.
In an interview in 2021, Murphy said that he has an idea for a third film, but that it wouldn't happen for a while. He stated, "There's an idea for a Coming to America 3 that I have, but it doesn't happen for 16 years. I have to be 75 to do it, and not make me up like 75 but really be 75."
Zamunda, as depicted by Rozay's luxurious estate, is in Georgia and sprawls over 235 acres. This massive 45,000 square-foot home, once belonging to the boxer Evander Holyfield, boasts 12 bedrooms and a dining room large enough to accommodate 100 guests. This setting was used in "Coming 2 America."
Zamunda translates to gardening or gardens in Swahili. While the exact origins of Zamunda's name remain a topic of discussion, the roots of Wakanda are more straightforward.
Zamunda is not a real location in Africa, even though it's presented with a lot of luxury and wealth in the story. It's a fictional place and doesn't directly represent any actual African country.
The "Coming to America" cast, featuring Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and many others, has left an indelible mark on Hollywood. The legacy of "Coming to America" is not just in its humor and storytelling but also in the remarkable careers it helped to either launch or solidify, proving the film to be a pivotal moment in cinema history.