news Steve Martin Considering Retirement After ‘Only Murders in the Building’: ‘This Is, Weirdly, It’

Steve Martin is still writing his “L.A. Story,” just not for the screen.

The iconic comedian has been in Hollywood for over 60 years, but Martin said that after his beloved Hulu whodunnit series “Only Murders in the Building” ends, he’s ready to step away from the screen.

“When this television show is done, I’m not going to seek others,” Martin told The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m not going to seek other movies. I don’t want to do cameos. This is, weirdly, it.”

However, Martin assured he will still be in the public eye.

“My wife keeps saying, ‘You always say you’re going to retire and then you always come up with something,'” Martin, who is making a documentary about his life story with Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville (“20 Feet from Stardom”) said. “I’m really not interested in retiring. I’m not. But I would just work a little less. Maybe.”

The “Saturday Night Live” alum will be the center of the upcoming AppleTV+ documentary executive produced by A24 and Tremolo Productions. The 76-year-old actor is also looking forward to spending quality time with his wife and nine-year-old daughter.

“I have a family life that’s really fun,” Martin said of working on his own terms. “To film a movie now, to go someplace else to live, I’m not willing to do that anymore. I can’t disappear for three months.”

Martin noted that even signing on for “Only Murders in the Building,” which he also co-created with John Hoffman and produces, had certain stipulations for a work-life balance. Martin mandated that filming take place in New York City and that he needed to be home every night by 6 p.m. While “that part didn’t work out,” his casting of real-life best friend Martin Short in the series did. Both Martin and Short are nominated for Emmys this year, rounding out the 17 total Emmy nominations for the first season, including Best Comedy. “Only Murders in the Building” also broke records to become Hulu’s most-watched original comedy on the platform.

Off-screen, Martin has an upcoming book titled “Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions,” plus is on tour with a live comedy show opposite Short.

“I think Steve learned the joy of collaboration,” Short said of longtime collaborator Martin after meeting him on 1986 film “Three Amigos!”

Short continued of the “Bowfinger” star, “All through his stand-up life, he was by himself. Now, when he has success, he can celebrate with someone. And when something bombs, he can really laugh about it — as opposed to just being alone with it.”
 
He used to be quite good, back in his prime. An intelligent person, who could have really made a mark on the world if he hadn't learned to play the banjo. Just leaving behind a career in Hollywood with no mortal enemies is an accomplishment of sorts these days, and Like all Steves, he almost made it. I always enjoyed his work, and by always I mean between 1986 and 1992. Steve Martin stood for a lot of things. He stood beside Lorne to look rich, he stood beside Eddie Murphy to look tall, and he stood beside Jim Belushi to look talented and funny. A timeless mainstay of comedy, who went out at the apex of his career, doing a cross promotional single location streaming show with a 12 year old pop star.

That's how Steve Martin would describe Steve Martin, in the third person.
 
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