45 Years After Meeting His Comedy Hero, Noah Wyle Is Haunted By The Bizarre Encouter

As a kid, Noah Wyle loved "Saturday Night Live." And he particularly enjoyed watching Eddie Murphy, who joined the show in late 1980 as a 19-year-old aspiring comedian. But Murphy wasn't impressed with his young fan. Wyle was 9 years old when he had a chance encounter with him and praised his "SNL" work. "He goes, 'What are you doing up that late?' And I said, 'Can I have your autograph?' He goes, 'F*** off, man,'" Wyle recalled on the "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" podcast in October 2026. 

In Murphy's defense, 11:30 p.m. is pretty late for a 9-year-old to be watching TV. But still, Wyle jokes he could have been a little more tactful about it. "Whenever a 9-year-old needs an autograph from me, I sign that so fast," he laughed. "The Pitt" Emmy winner has brought up the anecdote enough times at home that it has become family lore. So much so that one of Wyle's three kids even used it as a birthday gift. "My 10-year-old daughter printed up a picture of Eddie Murphy and then wrote on it, 'Dear Noah, you're a great kid, Eddy Murphy," he recalled, highlighting that she misspelled his name.

Wyle loved it so much he put the picture up in his office. Murphy hasn't responded to his fellow actor's recollection of their early '80s encounter, but Wyle's light-hearted tone suggests he holds no ill feelings toward him. Still, it clearly left a mark. While you may have forgotten that Murphy is among the huge stars who once starred on "SNL," Wyle never did.

While Eddie Murphy hasn't responded to Noah Wyle's anecdote, he has previously admitted to having an attitude when his career was taking off. Murphy made it big in his early 20s, helping save "Saturday Night Live" after its original cast members left and quickly becoming one of the most influential comedians of his time. His way of handling the sudden fame was to take it for granted. "Major stuff is going on, and I'm just a baby, you know? And that's a lot," he told Derek Hough on Extra in 2025.

When he looks back at his work from the '80s, he regrets some of his jokes. That's the case with the remarks about women and relationships interjected in "Raw," the 1987 stand-up comedy film. "I was a young guy processing a broken heart, you know, kind of an a**hole," he told The New York Times in 2019. When Murphy experienced a career decline in the '90s, many blamed his arrogance and cockiness. But his career rebounded, and he learned plenty of lessons along the way. "I'm mushier than I used to be," he said.

In response to the Wyle anecdote, some social media users pointed out that some of these factors likely influenced how he handled his young fan. "Eddie was 19. Most 19-year-olds are obnoxious, famous or not," an X user argued. Others agree that this anecdote should be viewed from this perspective instead of being used to define how Murphy is today. "Will give him a break if he was 19. That makes more sense. Doesn't sound like something Eddie would do," a second netizen defended. Wyle himself doesn't seem to hold it against Murphy.