Tuesday, 21 November 2006

Eddie Murphy: Acting eased pain of divorce

Star says work helped him through marriage break-up

Eddie Murphy says working on the upcoming movie Dreamgirls helped him deal with the painful end of his 12-year marriage.

Speaking on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, Murphy, 45, said he was grateful for the opportunity to get in character during the shoot and thus enjoy a reprieve from the drama of his personal life.

"I don't want to make it seem like I was Joe Actor," he said. "I was going through a big divorce then. ... It was really good because I had all that going on ... (but filming) would take me to a different place emotionally."

The Nutty Professor and Shrek star separated from his wife Nicole in 2005; their divorce was finalized in April. They have five children.

Murphy is currently dating singer Melanie Brown, also known as Scary Spice of the Spice Girls.