Getty Steve Martin and Martin Short
When it comes to Steve Martin fans, his longtime pal Martin Short is at the top of the list.
Speaking with E!’s Laverne Cox on the 2022 Emmy Awards red carpet Monday night, the Only Murders in the Building costars opened up about whether Martin, 77, was planning to retire.
Cox’s question about his potential retirement seemed to come as a result of Martin telling The Hollywood Reporter last month that he wasn’t planning “to seek” out other shows and movies.
“It’s a little overstated,” Martin clarified. “They asked me, ‘Do you think about retirement?’ I said, ‘Well this is it. I’m doing a television show, I’ve got a book coming out and I’m touring with [Short]. That kind of is my retirement — that’s what it’s going to look like.’ “
Said Short, 72, “I can’t imagine him ever retiring. I hope not, because then you know what happens to me,” concluding with a hilarious finger-across-the-neck gesture.
Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu From L: Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short in Only Murders in the Building
Martin — who, along with Short, is up for outstanding actor in a comedy series — told THR in his profile published last month that he wasn’t “going to seek” other shows and movies after Only Murders, adding, “I don’t want to do cameos. This is, weirdly, it.”
The reason? Martin, who has been in the entertainment industry since 1968 when he began his career writing episodes of The Summer Brothers Smothers Show, is prioritizing his life off screen.
“I have a family life that’s really fun,” he continued. “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.”
Though Martin is intent on slowing down, he wasn’t calling it an official “retirement.” The actor and comedian confirmed he’s not interested in doing stand-up or taking on movies, but clarified “retirement” isn’t the perfect word for what comes next.
“My wife [Anne Stringfield] keeps saying, ‘You always say you’re going to retire and then you always come up with something,’ ” Martin said in his THR interview. “I’m really not interested in retiring. I’m not. But I would just work a little less. Maybe.”
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Martin has enjoyed a career spanning seven decades that’s seen him in everything from Saturday Night Live to Three Amigos! and Father of the Bride (both of which also costarred Short). Now, he plays a true-crime-loving actor in Only Murders, which has become one of Hulu’s most-beloved original series — and which he co-created.
The Emmy, Grammy and Oscar winner previously told PEOPLE he wasn’t necessarily expecting Only Murders, which also costars Selena Gomez, to be a hit.
“I don’t think you ever really expect it, so it’s a nice surprise when it happens,” Martin said. “I am thrilled to be in an undeniable hit show — and to be working with my friend that I would hang out with anyway.”
He also said he’d be continuing to perform live shows with Short for the foreseeable future: “We’ll probably do our live show until we drop.”
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The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards are being broadcast live on NBC at 8 p.m. ET from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
