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Movie execs never understood why Ghostbusters fans loved Winston — because they never understood Ghostbusters
Ernie Hudson recalls how executives were surprised that Winston Zeddemore connected with fans - which is amusing because that's the whole point of the character.
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The story of how the Ghostbusters cast changed over the years is well documented, with the role of Winston Zeddemore originally meant for Eddie Murphy before Ernie Hudson was cast in the iconic role. But even when he was cast, studio executives weren’t sold on the new fourth Ghostbuster and, according to the actor, were genuinely surprised that the everyman figure in a film full of paranormal scientists somehow connected with audiences.
It is extra amusing because, when you look at the structure of Ghostbusters, Winston is always meant to be the stand-in for the audience, giving the aforementioned scientists an excuse to explain whatever scientific jargon the script relies on. However, even after the movie became a massive hit, studio executives were surprised Winston resonated so hard with fans.
“Oddly enough, it’s the fans who really connected with the character,” Ernie Hudson explained in an interview. “I think because he wasn’t this zany scientist. He was just this guy looking for a job, and that resonated with a lot of people. With the Winston toys, I remember one of these studio execs once said, ‘Oh, we’re really surprised that Winston is one of the bestselling toys. They think of him as just one of the Ghostbusters.’ And I go, ‘But I thought he was one of the Ghostbusters?’”
Part of this confusion comes from Hudson’s standing among the four stars of the film, who had already had their individual breakthroughs. But the other three Ghostbuster actors were keen to make sure that Ernie Hudson didn’t get completely overshadowed in the film. “It was always that feeling of wanting to be pushed away,” Hudson added. “I really give credit to Bill [Murray], Harold [Ramis], and Dan [Aykroyd] because they would go, ‘Let’s let Ernie say this.’ So a lot of those lines that people still quote are from those guys.”
Ghostbusters is currently streaming on Hulu.
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