Ernie Hudson Says 'Ghostbusters' Is the 'Most Difficult Movie' He's Ever Done: 'Hard to Make Peace'

Ernie Hudsonis revealing details about some difficulties he had while makingGhostbusters.The 77-year-oldChampionsactor appeared onThe Howard Stern Wrap Up Showthis week, where he opened up about feeling “pushed aside” in favor of the “really successful"Bill Murray,Dan AykroydandHarold Ramis— whom he said were “all welcoming and inclusive” themselves.“I was the guy who was brought in, and so finding my place in the middle of that — and they were all welcoming and inclusive,” recalled Hudson. “The studio wasn’t, and the studio continued not to be. So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it, butthen very selectively I was pushed aside.“While the actor also praised late directorIvan Reitman, he went on to recount not seeing himself on the posters for the 1984 comedy, something he said still persisted three decades later.“I went tothe 30th-anniversaryrelease of the movie, and I was invited to a theater in Chicago to introduce the movie, and I get there and all the posters are three guys,” Hudson said of Murray, 72, Aykroyd, 70, and the late Ramis, whodied in 2014 at age 69.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.From left:Ghostbusters' Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson in 1984.Columbia Pictures/Alamy"Now I know the fans see it differently, and I’m so thankful for the fans because the fans basically identified with Winston, especially young … I don’t want to say minority kids, but a lot of kids,” he added.Hudson revealed that he is currently negotiating another return to the franchise that is set to begin shooting next month, after he previously appeared in 2021’sGhostbusters: Afterlife, reprising his character Winston Zeddemore.“There’s a place that I’m not an add-on. And so if I’m gonna do it, it has to make sense,” he said.For Hudson, he “was always told it’s almost impossible to succeed” when he started out in the entertainment business, “but if you get in a major movie from a major studio and it comes out and it opens No. 1, it’ll change your career.““Well,Ghostbustersdidn’t do any of that for me,” he admitted. “I was working pretty nonstop. I didGhostbusters, and it was two and a half years before I got another movie.“Ernie Hudson.Slaven Vlasic/GettyThe actor allowed that the film was “important” and “big,” and that he’s “so thankful to be a part of the franchise.““But it wasn’t an easy road,” Hudson said. “Ghostbusters, I would say, it was probablythe most difficult movie I ever didjust from the psychological perspective.“Citing script changes and more, he continued, “All those things … it definitely felt deliberate. And I’m still not trying to take it personal.““If you’re African American in this country, anything bad happens to you, you can always blame it on,‘Oh, because I’m Black.'… You don’t wanna go there,” Hudson said. “That’s the last thing you wanna do … I got nothing bad to say about anybody, but it was hard, and it was hard for a long time.“And it took him “10 years to finally get past that and just embrace the movie and enjoy the movie,” he added. “Ghostbusterswas really hard to make peace with.”

Ernie Hudsonis revealing details about some difficulties he had while makingGhostbusters.

The 77-year-oldChampionsactor appeared onThe Howard Stern Wrap Up Showthis week, where he opened up about feeling “pushed aside” in favor of the “really successful"Bill Murray,Dan AykroydandHarold Ramis— whom he said were “all welcoming and inclusive” themselves.

“I was the guy who was brought in, and so finding my place in the middle of that — and they were all welcoming and inclusive,” recalled Hudson. “The studio wasn’t, and the studio continued not to be. So it made it very, very difficult because I was a part of it, butthen very selectively I was pushed aside.”

While the actor also praised late directorIvan Reitman, he went on to recount not seeing himself on the posters for the 1984 comedy, something he said still persisted three decades later.

“I went tothe 30th-anniversaryrelease of the movie, and I was invited to a theater in Chicago to introduce the movie, and I get there and all the posters are three guys,” Hudson said of Murray, 72, Aykroyd, 70, and the late Ramis, whodied in 2014 at age 69.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

From left:Ghostbusters’ Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson in 1984.Columbia Pictures/Alamy

“Now I know the fans see it differently, and I’m so thankful for the fans because the fans basically identified with Winston, especially young … I don’t want to say minority kids, but a lot of kids,” he added.

Hudson revealed that he is currently negotiating another return to the franchise that is set to begin shooting next month, after he previously appeared in 2021’sGhostbusters: Afterlife, reprising his character Winston Zeddemore.

“There’s a place that I’m not an add-on. And so if I’m gonna do it, it has to make sense,” he said.

For Hudson, he “was always told it’s almost impossible to succeed” when he started out in the entertainment business, “but if you get in a major movie from a major studio and it comes out and it opens No. 1, it’ll change your career.”

“Well,Ghostbustersdidn’t do any of that for me,” he admitted. “I was working pretty nonstop. I didGhostbusters, and it was two and a half years before I got another movie.”

Ernie Hudson.Slaven Vlasic/Getty

The actor allowed that the film was “important” and “big,” and that he’s “so thankful to be a part of the franchise.”

“But it wasn’t an easy road,” Hudson said. “Ghostbusters, I would say, it was probablythe most difficult movie I ever didjust from the psychological perspective.”

Citing script changes and more, he continued, “All those things … it definitely felt deliberate. And I’m still not trying to take it personal.”

“If you’re African American in this country, anything bad happens to you, you can always blame it on,‘Oh, because I’m Black.'… You don’t wanna go there,” Hudson said. “That’s the last thing you wanna do … I got nothing bad to say about anybody, but it was hard, and it was hard for a long time.”

And it took him “10 years to finally get past that and just embrace the movie and enjoy the movie,” he added. “Ghostbusterswas really hard to make peace with.”

source: people.com