Hyattsville native Jermaine Fowler plays Eddie Murphy’s long-lost son in the sequel to the 1988 comedy “Coming to America,” which was released March 5 on Amazon Prime.

It’s a fitting role for Fowler, who first performed stand-up in 2006 as a student at Northwestern High School after repeatedly listening to Murphy’s concerts.

Fowler, who is a twin and grew up with his three siblings in the Plaza Towers Apartments behind the Mall at Prince Georges, moved to New York City at the age of 20 to pursue a career in comedy with the goal of using that to get into acting.

“‘Eddie Murphy: Raw’ is the reason why I wanted to do stand-up, and the reason why I wanted to do stand-up that would catapult to an acting career,” he told Variety. “And now I’m doing the sequel to ‘Coming to America.’ You can’t write that, you know.”

Fowler, 32, has followed that path. Since making a name for himself in comedy, being featured on HBO’s “Funny as Hell,” and taping his first stand-up special, “Give ‘Em Hell Kid” in 2015, he’s moved into acting, starring in the series “Superior Donuts” and having a recurring role on HBO’s “Crashing.”

Fowler still comes back to Northwestern twice a year to talk to students of his former TV production teacher, Andre Lee.