Eddie Murphy makes Chris Rock feel insecure

Chris Rock says he has been undergoing therapy in recent years to help deal with feelings of insecurity.

While the 61-year-old comic insists he has no doubts about his own “status”, he admitted that seeing how hard some people work can leave him feeling anxious.

He told The New York Times: “I’ve been doing a lot of therapy the last few years, post-COVID, and a lot of it is about not feeling insecure. A lot of it is about ‘you’re enough’.

“But I don’t ever really feel insecure about my ‘status’, per se.

“Occasionally I’ll meet people that are obviously working harder than me and that’ll make me feel insecure. Adam Sandler, Rick Rubin. You’re like, ‘How many things are you doing right now?’

“And some people are better with their kids than me. I think I’m a good dad.”

The Misty Green actor believes all good artistes wrestle with self-esteem issues.

He said: “All artistes have self-esteem questions, especially the good ones. An artiste is an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. I would absolutely fall into that. ‘I am great. I hope they notice.’ So, yeah, I can feel that way.

“Eddie Murphy makes me feel like that. In the presence of Eddie Murphy, I can get a little insecure.”

Chris, who shares daughters Lola, 24, and Zahra, 22, with ex-wife Malaak Compton-Rock, said therapy has also helped him become a more empathetic person.

Discussing his film work, he said: “Saying there are stark differences between men and women is a perfect device for comedy. It doesn’t work in a drama.

“I’ll say this: Part of all this therapy is developing empathy and really being able to get inside of another character.

“So, the last four or five years, I’m a way more empathetic person. It also helps that my daughters are like grown-ups, so I really watch women around my house.

“My daughters don’t forgive my sins, but they give me an education that I wouldn’t normally have.”

The Top Five actor and director also reflected on his life and career during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asked why it took 12 years for him to return to directing, he said: “Life, COVID, I got divorced, which meant I had to make real money. Maybe I had some other scripts that the market didn’t respond to. It’s not like I was sitting around. But COVID was a time to be like, okay, what am I doing with my life?

“And other s*** I don’t feel like talking about. I had a lot of stuff going on the last 12 years.”