Eddie Murphy is a genius. No, seriously. Most people forget how hard it is to carry a movie when you are basically the entire call sheet. When we look back at the cast of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, it isn’t just a list of names. It is a masterclass in physical comedy and prosthetic endurance. Released in 2000, this sequel shifted the spotlight away from the university setting of the first film and leaned heavily into the family dynamic. It was gross. It was loud. It was somehow deeply sweet.
Most of the "cast" was actually just Eddie Murphy in a lot of latex.
He played Sherman Klump. He played Buddy Love. He played Papa Cletus Klump, Mama Anna Klump, Grandma Ida Mae Jensen, and Ernie Klump Sr. He even played Isaac the bartender. Think about the logistics of that for a second. You aren't just memorizing lines; you are talking to a tennis ball on a stick for fourteen hours a day while covered in glue and foam.
The Heavy Lifters: Eddie Murphy’s Multiverse
The central tension of the movie revolves around Sherman trying to get rid of Buddy Love once and for all. Sherman is the heart. He’s the brilliant, soft-spoken scientist we all root for. But the cast of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps would be nothing without the rest of the dinner table.
Papa Cletus is probably the standout. He’s grumpy, obsessed with his "potency," and constantly at odds with his own aging body. Murphy plays him with this raspy, aggressive energy that feels entirely distinct from Sherman’s gentle stutter. Then you have Mama Anna, who provides the emotional glue. Her sweetness makes the chaotic dinner scenes—which were filmed using complex motion-control cameras—actually feel like a real family dinner, albeit a very flatulent one.
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The technical wizardry behind this shouldn't be overlooked. Rick Baker, the legendary makeup artist, won an Oscar for the first film, and his work here is arguably more refined. They had to make these characters look real enough to interact with Janet Jackson without it looking like a cartoon.
Janet Jackson and the Non-Murphy Performers
Let’s talk about Janet. It’s easy to get lost in the Murphy-on-Murphy action, but Janet Jackson as Denise Gaines was a huge deal. At the turn of the millennium, she was one of the biggest stars on the planet. Her role as Sherman’s fiancée provided the grounded, "straight man" energy the movie desperately needed to keep from flying off the rails.
She wasn't just a love interest. She was a brilliant scientist in her own right.
- Larry Miller as Dean Richmond: Miller returns as the quintessential sycophant/antagonist. His comedic timing is surgical. He’s the guy you love to hate because he’s so desperately trying to keep his university's reputation intact while Sherman’s life implodes.
- John Ales as Jason: Sherman’s loyal assistant. Every mad scientist (or slightly disorganized one) needs a right-hand man, and Ales plays the role with a frantic, supportive charm.
- Richard Gant as Mr. Gaines: Playing Janet Jackson’s father, Gant brings a stern, protective energy that contrasts perfectly with the Klumps' lack of boundaries.
Honestly, the chemistry between the "real" actors and Murphy’s various personas is what makes the movie watchable 20-plus years later. When Janet Jackson is looking at Mama Klump, she isn't looking at a guy in a suit; she’s reacting to a character. That’s a testament to the acting on both sides of the prosthetic.
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The Buddy Love Problem
In the first movie, Buddy Love was a manifestation of Sherman’s ego. In the sequel, he becomes his own physical entity. This is where the cast of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps gets weird. By extracting Buddy’s DNA, Sherman accidentally creates a separate person.
This allows for more traditional "villain" tropes. Buddy Love is the antithesis of Sherman—lean, mean, and incredibly arrogant. Murphy’s ability to switch between the vulnerable Sherman and the hyper-masculine Buddy is the engine that drives the plot. It’s a Jekyll and Hyde story told through the lens of a raunchy 2000s comedy.
Some critics at the time felt the sequel relied too much on the "Klump family" antics and not enough on the tight storytelling of the original. Maybe they're right. But if you're watching this movie, you're not here for a tight script. You're here to see a giant hamster chase a man through a hallway. You're here for the "Klump" dinner table.
Why the Makeup Matters More Than You Think
We can't discuss the performers without discussing the physical toll. Murphy spent hours in the chair every morning. For the dinner scenes, they had to film the same sequence over and over, with Murphy changing characters between takes.
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- Sherman's Setup: Often the first to be filmed to establish the baseline of the scene.
- The Switch: Cleaning off one set of prosthetics and applying the next, which could take 3-5 hours.
- The Interaction: Murphy had to remember exactly where he looked and what his timing was in the previous "body" to ensure the eyelines matched.
It's a miracle the movie is even coherent.
Legacy of the Klumps
The cast of Nutty Professor II: The Klumps represents a specific era of Hollywood filmmaking. This was the peak of the "one actor, many roles" trend that Murphy pioneered and others tried to replicate. It’s a style of comedy that relies on sheer force of personality.
While the humor might be dated for some—yes, there are a lot of bodily function jokes—the heart is surprisingly resilient. Sherman’s struggle with his self-worth and his fear of losing his intelligence hits home. It’s a movie about wanting to be enough for the person you love.
If you're revisiting the film today, pay attention to the background characters. Look at the way Grandma Klump reacts to things even when she isn't the focus of the shot. That’s Murphy playing against himself in a way that modern CGI often fails to capture. There’s a soul in the latex.
How to Appreciate the Performance Today
To truly understand what went into this movie, you have to look past the fart jokes and focus on the technical execution of the acting.
- Watch the eyelines: Notice how Sherman and Papa Klump seem to actually look at each other. This was done without the benefit of modern AI-assisted compositing.
- Listen to the voices: Murphy creates distinct vocal textures for all six Klumps. He doesn't just change the pitch; he changes the cadence and the breathiness.
- Research Rick Baker: Look up the behind-the-scenes footage of the makeup application. It gives you a whole new respect for what Eddie Murphy went through to bring these characters to life.
Next time you see it on a streaming service, don't just dismiss it as a sequel. It's a high-wire act of solo performance that few actors, then or now, could ever hope to pull off.