Trivia: Was the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time for nearly twenty years until "The Matrix Reloaded" upseated it on June 3, 2003. In the history of R-rated films, it held the longest record for high grosser (19 years).
Trivia: The role of Axel Foley originally went to Sylvester Stallone. The producers decided to go with Eddie Murphy though after Stallone wrote in too much action, and they wanted it to be more of a comedy.
Trivia: Gil Hill, who plays Inspector Todd, was a real-life Inspector for the Detroit Police Department. He was still on the force when he appeared in Beverly Hills Cop 1 and 2 (he had retired before the release of BHC 3).
Trivia: During the "supercops" scene, you'll notice that Sergeant Taggart (actor John Ashton), with a very pained look on his face. That's because Eddie Murphy improvised this whole scene and John was pinching his thigh, desperately trying not to laugh out loud.
Trivia: The gay waiter who gives Foley the bananas is Damon Wayans, in a very early role. Wayans, years later, will portray a gay co-host of a public-access TV program on the early 1990s FOX variety show "In Living Color."
Trivia: Max Weinberg, the drummer for Bruce Springsteen and Conan O'Brien, has an unbilled cameo as one of Victor Maitland's guards.
Chosen answer: Much of Axel Foley's lines were improvised, including this scene, according to the commentary. But many other actors improvised their lines too, most notably Bronson Pinchot. The script was originally written with the intent of Sylvester Stallone playing Axel and as such, the issue of his race wasn't scripted and the director tried to avoid mentioning race in the film. It was Eddie Murphy that would bring it up in improvised lines.
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