Ernie Hudson feels more freedom in the Ghostbusters franchise
The original Ghostbuster recalled feeling like he had to convince the studio he was the right guy for the job in 1984
It’s hard to imagine Ghostbusters without the prowess of Ernie Hudson, the talented actor who has played Winston Zeddemore since 1984. It’s a role he’s reprised in three additional films, including Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which releases in theaters this week. Still, he tells The A.V. Club he finds more freedom in the franchise now than ever before.
While promoting the latest entry into the franchise, Hudson reflected on his experience of being in the original. He knew then it would be life-changing to book the role because of how different, wild, and funny the script was. “I was excited about it. It took me a while to convince them I was the guy for the part. Eventually, it obviously worked out,” he said, adding: “I think they [the studio] knew I was the right guy but were somehow reluctant to do it.”
Hudson has spoken out before about feeling sidelined during the marketing of the original; he recalled in a 2023 Sirius XM interview how he wasn’t on the original poster and other promotional materials. He tells The A.V. Club now that it led to a lot of insecurity on his part. “A lot of that is my interpretation of things. I felt the studio’s intention was different than my own. I was a little bit cautious of what we were doing, why would they do that to me, why am I over here and they’re over there? When you’re in a situation where you’re not sure, you begin to question everything.”