Ernie Hudson, best-known for playing Winston in the Ghostbusters franchise, has been speaking to Looper about the Quantum Leap reboot, The Crow and some of his other roles. He speaks emotionally about what Ghostbusters has meant to him over the years, and how thankful he is that it still connects with people.
Hudson was of course recently reunited with Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. “After about 15 years [after Ghostbusters II in 1989], I got past the belief that we’d ever get back together again. It wasn’t happening for whatever reason, which I never really understood. Then, I get a call from Jason [Reitman, son of original director Ivan Reitman] saying that we were doing Afterlife, but I still didn’t believe that it was actually going to come together.”
“Finally, I got on the set and the first thing I had to do was put on the jumpsuit, and I walked out and Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were in their jumpsuits. It all came flooding back and felt like however many years ago.”
Hudson continues; “It was a spiritual thing. I was very moved by it. I saw Sigourney Weaver and Annie Potts, and I felt so blessed and thankful to have been around to see what impact the film has had and so thankful that we all came together to do something that fans really appreciate. Through the different conventions and all, I’ve met a lot of people, and you hear stories of how it impacted their lives.”
Asked whether he kept anything from the original two 80s movies, Hudson says; “I have my jumpsuits from each of the movies. I have an incredible backpack that one of the fans made for me. It’s actually cooler than the backpacks we had in the movie. I’ve seen some amazing backpacks. Most of the stuff I have is from fans who make stuff and give to me. I have all my original jumpsuits. I wasn’t going to take it…”
“I remember on the first movie, it was the last day, and I was getting ready to leave and Harold Ramis says, ‘You going to take your jumpsuit?” I said, “I didn’t know we could.’ He said, ‘Ernie, we’re the Ghostbusters. Take the suit.’ I have my jumpsuits.”
While we wait on news regarding the follow up to Afterlife, check out our guide to the best comedy movies.