“Ghostbusters” legend Ernie Hudson is haunted by his experiences on the set of the classic 1984 sci-fi action-comedy.
Hudson, 77, opened up concerning the “psychological” damage he incurred working on the unique movie that launched the franchise, revealing how being “selectively dismissed” made the filming the project “difficult.”
The veteran actor launched his bombshell appearance on “The Howard Stern Wrap Up Show” by declaring “Ghostbusters” director Ivan Reitman — who died at 75 in 2022 — a “really, really a superb man and I actually have just a lot love and appreciation for him.”
Although Hudson had praise for his A-list co-stars Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd — he didn’t share the identical warm words for the Columbia Pictures studio execs behind the scenes.
“I used to be the guy who was brought in, and so finding my place in the course of that — and so they were all welcoming and inclusive,” Hudson told SiriusXM’s Gary Dell’Abate and Rahsaan Rogers. “The studio wasn’t, and the studio continued to not be. So it made it very, very difficult because I used to be a component of it but then I very selectively was dismissed.”
Hudson, portrayed paranormal hunter Winston Zeddemore in “Ghostbusters” and its 1989 sequel, also claimed he was omitted of the marketing and press materials.
“When the posters got here out, I’m not on the poster. It took an extended time,” Hudson said with a sigh. “I went to the Thirtieth-anniversary release of the movie and all of the posters are three guys.”
The “Oz” alum continued: “Now I do know the fans see it in another way, and I’m so thankful for the fans since the fans principally identified with Winston, especially young, I don’t wish to say minority kids, but numerous kids.”
Hudson recollected how the script had been modified several times after he signed on to play the role. “The unique script, Winston was within the very starting of the movie,” he said of the film that also co-starred screen icons Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and Annie Potts.
“By the point we got able to shoot the movie, Winston got here in halfway through the movie. All those things … It definitely felt deliberate.”
He concluded by admitting the movie “wasn’t a straightforward road,” adding, “It was probably probably the most difficult movie I ever did just from the psychological perspective … And I’m still not attempting to take it personally.”
Hudson also revealed that in ongoing negotiations for a recent installment within the “Ghostbusters Afterlife” series — set to start filming in March — he’s ensuring he isn’t treated like an “add-on.”
“If I’m going to do it, it has to make sense. If you start out within the business, I used to be all the time told it’s almost unimaginable to succeed,” he said. “But in the event you get in a serious movie from a serious studio and it comes out and it opens primary, it’ll change your profession. Well, ‘Ghostbusters’ didn’t do any of that for me. I used to be working pretty nonstop [then] I did ‘Ghostbusters,’ and it was two and a half years before I got one other movie.”
