The most interesting actor in Detroit was not an actor

• Eddie Murphy acts his tail off and the jokes from 1984 still land. It's awesome.

Yes, but: That's not why I'm here.

• Early in the film, Murphy's Axel Foley is lambasted by a well-dressed, foul-mouthed police chief who acts for a grand total of two minutes and completely steals the show.

The intrigue: The chief was played by a former Detroit public official I would now argue is among the most interesting people in city history.

• Gil Hill joined the Detroit Police Department in 1959, and by the '80s, was head of the homicide division. He joined the "Beverly Hills Cop" cast only after a tour of the city for the film's director turned into an impromptu audition.
• Hill, who was not a trained actor, parlayed the performance into the next two movies in the series, but that was it. Reports say he was offered other roles but declined them.

Instead, he rose to commander at the DPD, retired, was elected to the city council twice, and then became its president in 1997 before losing to Kwame Kilpatrick in the 2001 mayoral election.

• By most accounts, it was hard to be more dedicated to Detroit as Hill (though he's also been accused of corruption by former FBI informant White Boy Rick).
• After Hill died in 2016, Mayor Mike Duggan said, "He never stopped believing in our city and dedicated his life to making our city a better place for all."

Quick take: It takes a certain kind of person to dedicate more than 40 years to public service — particularly when the other option is raking in easy Hollywood money as a side character in Eddie Murphy movies.