I don't want to say I'm retired: Eddie Murphy about his break from films

American actor and singer Eddie Murphy recently opened up about his upcoming film 'Dolemite Is My Name' and semi-retirement from acting.

In an interview with Al Roker, which will air on Friday, the 58-year-old actor talked about his upcoming venture.

"I still am in the semi-retired state," the actor said.

"For maybe five or six years, I was on the couch, just doing nothing, and not planning and not trying to get anything. I had things in development, but I just was doing nothing," he added.

While he was not working actively, he feels that he did not miss out on much.

"That means I'm never ever, ever -- even if that means people love these pictures I'm doing -- I'm never going to be on it like I was in my 20s," he said.

"What I like to do more than anything is to not have a schedule and just be within earshot of my children. That's my favorite dish."

According to People, though Murphy is enjoying his family time after welcoming his tenth child, son Max, with fiancee Paige Butcher in December -- he feels that he will continue his journey in acting if he gets the right project.

"I don't want to say I'm retired like I won't do anything. If some great thing comes along, or if some great thing happens, some great director or some great idea, of course, I'll make other movies," he told the host.

"Once I get my stand-up muscle back together, I'll always do stand-up. I'll always have this thing to go do, but I'm never going to be doing it like I used to be all the time," the 'Dr. Dolittle' star said.

In the upcoming film, Murphy will portray the role of a comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who used the character of Dolemite to become a Blaxploitation icon in the '70s.

Blaxploitation movies emerged in the 1970s. They featured black actors and were originally aimed at an urban African-American audience.