*Actor Ernie Hudson’s Hollywood career spans 4 decades, with his most notable role being one of the original Ghostbusters.
He can next be seen in the drama feature “Redemption Day,” in which he plays the boxing father to Gary Dourdan’s character. In a new interview with TooFab, the veteran actor says that while he had a great time working on the project, at 75, he is still on the hunt for “that one great role.”
“But honestly, I’m okay,” he added, “If it happens that’d be great but at a certain point you gotta go you know what, ‘I’d love to get an Academy Award, but I gotta be okay with where it is.”
Hudson said his second cancer diagnosis in 2011 changed his outlook on his Hollywood career.
“I came close to dying and that was the moment when I said, ‘Whatever I didn’t get done, I gotta accept the fact that I might not get it done and I gotta be okay with where I am right now,'” he explained. “And that’s kind of how I look at it. I would love to get a great role, I’d love for that to happen, but I’m not going to wait for that to be happy.”
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While Hudson is proud of the progress Hollywood has made when it comes to casting Black actors, he acknowledges that there’s still “a long way to go.”
“I don’t think that many years ago, Gary would not have been the lead in this film,” he said. “I star in and Executive Produce the show called ‘Family Business,’ even though on BET I don’t think that would’ve happened. Or ‘L.A.’s Finest,’ the leads are a Black and a Hispanic woman.”
“The world is a diverse place, that’s the thing that people keep trying to ignore when they talk about going back to some form of time, you kinda got, that wasn’t the world then and it’s certainly isn’t the world now.
“It’s a little globe and we’re all a part of it, so I’m excited that Hollywood is at least making an attempt to reflect that.”
Working on “Redemption Day” allowed Hudson to show off his impressive physique.
“I’ve just been very fortunate to try to take care of what I have,” he said about his physique. “I’ve lost 35 pounds since we been locked down. My routine is push-ups, sit-ups, just basic stuff you learn in junior high school. But I’ve never had to transform my body, I’ve just sort of held onto what god gave me I guess.”
“I’m happy to hear them called guns. So, that’s a good thing.”
“Redemption Day” hit theaters on January 8 and VOD on January 12.
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