Ernie Hudson Discusses Winston Zeddemore Saying He's a "Complete Character" in GHOSTBUSTERS AFTERLIFE
Ernie Hudson recently shared some thoughts on his Ghostbusters character Winston Zeddemore. He offers a little background on the character and shares his thoughts on how the character was handled in the first two films. He then says that after all these years Winston Zeddemore is a "complete character" in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
In the original Ghostbusters script, there’s actually some backstory to Winston. He is a five-year U.S. Air Force Air Police Captain with an extensive and impressive resume. That all eventually ended up being cut out and Hudson says that it was frustrating for him to go from a character who ran the Ghostbusters to a hired hand who is "just there."
While a guest on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum podcast, Hudson shares that his character has a more concrete history in Ghostbusters: Afterlife which is coming from writer-director Jason Reitman:
"We don't know a damn thing about Winston. With Bill Murray, we see him in his little studio, or Danny in his little lab, we get a sense of what is outside of what we're seeing. But with Winston, he's just there. He just pops up. In the beginning, there was a backstory, just before we started shooting, they wrote him out.
"Basically, instead of coming in page eight, he came in at page 68. All the backstory where I come in and we talk about who I am and I'm auditioning and explaining what I do, he just says, 'If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say.' I find that a funny line, but you don't get to know who this guy is. It's a funny bit, but unfortunately, it doesn't give you a lot to play. So as an actor, you have to bring all of that with you, and hopefully, people will see it."
Winston went on to discuss how the studio went out of their way to make the Ghostbusters team only a three-man crew in the marketing for the film. But, that didn’t stop fans from embracing Winston:
"I think the studio probably worked overtime to try and make sure that the Ghostbusters were always thought of as three guys. I think it's the fans — and I really appreciate the fans who really embraced the character — and at one point Winston was one of the best-selling dolls they had, and they were surprised. I think that’s because fans really loved the character."
When asked if there's a backstory or something more there for Winston in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Hudson said, "Yep! Yep, thanks to Jason Reitman. Winston is definitely a complete character." Awesome!
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is set to be released on November 11th.