Ernie Hudson is open about the psychological effect Ghostbusters had on him.
In an interview with SiriusXM’s Gary Dell’Abate and Rahsaan Rogers on The Howard Stern Wrap Up Show, Hudson explained that while he loved and appreciated Ivan Reitman and his fellow Ghostbusters so much, the studio was a different story.
“I was the guy that was brought in, so I found my place right in the middle — and they were all welcoming and inclusive,” the actor recalled joining the cast. “The studio wasn’t, and the studio still wasn’t. That made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it, but then I was pushed aside very selectively.”
Hudson shared on the radio show an example of how the studio wasn’t very supportive and pointed out that he wasn’t on the movie posters when they came out.
“It took a long time. I was at the 30th anniversary film release and there are three guys on all the posters,” he continued Fans so grateful because the fans basically identified with Winston, especially young ones, I wouldn’t say minority children, but a lot of children.”
The actor explained that with ongoing negotiations for a new Ghostbusters movie due to start filming in March, he’s making sure it won’t be seen as an “add-on”.
“If I’m going to do it, it has to make sense,” Hudson said. “When you start out in business, I’ve always been told that it’s almost impossible to be successful. But if you get on a big movie from a big studio and it comes out and it’s number one, it’s going to change your career. Well, Ghostbusters didn’t do any of that for me. I’ve been working pretty non-stop, I’ve done Ghostbusters, and it took me two and a half years to get another film.”
He went on to explain that Winston’s role in the film had changed from the moment he originally received the script to the time they actually started filming. First, his character was introduced at the very beginning. When production started, Winston came in halfway through.
“It wasn’t an easy road. Ghostbusters, I would say, was probably the most difficult film I’ve ever done just from a psychological point of view,” he continued. “All those things… It definitely felt intentional. And I’m still trying not to take it personally.”
Hudson concluded, “Everything bad, if you’re African American in this country, everything bad happens to you, you can always blame it, because I’m black. You don’t want to go there. That’s the last thing I want to do… I don’t have anything bad to say about anyone, but it was hard. It took me 10 years to get over it and enjoy the film and just embrace the film. Ghostbusters was really hard to make peace with.”