Ernie Hudson

Ernie Hudson's early film credits include Leadbelly (1976), The Human Tornado (1976), Mad Bull (1977), Last of the Good Guys (1978), The Main Event (1979), Joni (1980), The $5.20 an Hour Dream (1980), White Mama (1980), The Octagon (1980), The Jazz Singer (1980), A Matter of Life and Death (1981), Underground Aces (1981), Crazy Times (1981), and Penitentiary II (1982). He subsequently appeared in Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983), Going Berserk (1983), Women of San Quentin (1983), Two of a Kind (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), National Lampoon's Joy of Sex (1984), California Girls (1985), Love on the Run (1985), Weeds (1987), The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission (1988), The Wrong Guys (1988), Leviathan (1989), Collision Course (1989), Trapper County War (1989), and Ghostbusters II (1989), playing Winston Zeddemore in both Ghostbusters films.

Hudson's subsequent film credits include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), Angel Street (1993), The Pitch (1993), Sugar Hill (1994), The Crow (1994), No Escape (1994), The Cowboy Way (1994), Airheads (1994), Speechless (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Congo (1995), The Substitute (1996), Tornado! (1996), For Which He Stands (1996), Just Your Luck (1996), The Cherokee Kid (1996), Operation Delta Force (1997), Levitation (1997), Clover (1997), Fakin' da Funk (1997), Mr. Magoo (1997), A Stranger in the Kingdom (1997), Butter (1998), Best of the Best 4: Without Warning (1998), Hijack (1998), October 22 (1998), Michael Jordan: An American Hero (1999), Shark Attack (1999), Interceptor Force (1999), Stealth Fighter (1999), Paper Bullets (1999), Miracle on the 17th Green (1999), and Lillie (1999).

In 2000, Hudson appeared in Nowhere to Land, Everything's Jake, Red Letters, The Watcher, and Miss Congeniality, playing FBI Assistant Director Harry McDonald in the latter. He reprised the role in Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005). His other film credits include Walking Shadow (2001), A Town Without Christmas (2001), Anne B. Real (2003), Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004), Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005), Lackawanna Blues (2005), Bathsheba (2005), Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story (2005), Halfway Decent (2005), The Ron Clark Story (2006), Hood of Horror (2006), Certifiably Jonathan (2007), Nobel Son (2007), All Hat (2007), Final Approach (2007), Pie'n Burger (2008), Lonely Street (2008), Balancing the Books (2009), Dragonball Evolution (2009), Pastor Brown (2009), Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010), Machete Joe (2010), Stasis (2010), and Game of Death (2010).

Hudson continued his film career with Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011), Sugarwheels (2011), Deep Blue Breath (2011), Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy (2012), Dinner Date (2012), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta! (2012), Deer Crossing (2012), Dark Canyon (2012), Turning Point (2012), Battledogs (2013), Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013), Doonby (2013), Dear Secret Santa (2013), Reckless (2013), Adonis (2013), Touched (2014), The Grim Sleeper (2014), You're Not You (2014), Merry Ex-Mas (2014), The Last Song (2014), To Hell and Back (2015), Gallows Road (2015), Delores & Jermaine (2015), The Man in the Silo (2016), Batman: Bad Blood (2016), God's Not Dead 2 (2016), Ghostbusters (2016), Spaceman (2016), Infinity Train (2016), Heaven Sent (2016), High & Outside: A Baseball Noir (2017), Nappily Ever After (2018), I Love You... Forever (2020), Redemption Day (2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), Beebo Saves Christmas (2021), Prisoner's Daughter (2022), Champions (2023), The Retirement Plan (2023), and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024). He is also credited as Combat Carl in Toy Story 5 (2026). His upcoming film credits listed in the supplied information include Oswald: Down the Rabbit Hole and Hal, both undated.

Hudson began his television career with Man from Atlantis (1977). His early television credits include King (1978), Fantasy Island (1978), Winners (1978), Baa Baa Black Sheep (1978), The Incredible Hulk (1979), Roots: The Next Generations (1979), The White Shadow (1979), Detective School (1979), One Day at a Time (1979), Highcliffe Manor (1979), Skag (1980), Too Close for Comfort (1980), Diff'rent Strokes (1981), Little House on the Prairie (1981), Bosom Buddies (1981), Taxi (1981), The Dukes of Hazzard (1982), Flamingo Road (1982), The New Odd Couple (1982), Webster (1983), The A-Team (1983), St. Elsewhere (1984), The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians (1985), The Last Precinct (1986), It's a Living (1986), Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1986), Gimme a Break! (1987), Full House (1987), Pound Puppies (1987), The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! (1989), An Evening at the Improv (1990), Cop Rock (1990), and Broken Badges (1990–1991).

His later television credits include Angel Street (1992), The Ben Stiller Show (1992), Batman: The Animated Series (1992), TriBeCa (1993), Wild Palms (1993), Tales from the Crypt (1993), and Lifestories: Families in Crisis (1994). From 1997 to 2003, he starred as Warden Leo Glynn in HBO's Oz, appearing in 55 episodes. He also appeared in Superman: The Animated Series (1997), The Gregory Hines Show (1998), Arli$$ (1998), Intimate Portrait (2000), Touched by an Angel (2001), Without a Trace (2003), and 10-8: Officers on Duty (2003–2004).

Hudson's television work in the mid-2000s included Everwood (2004), Celebrity Paranormal Project (2006), Crossing Jordan (2006), Stargate SG-1 (2006), ER (2006), Desperate Housewives (2006–2007), Cold Case (2007), Las Vegas (2007), Psych (2007), Bones (2007–2008), Private Practice (2008), and The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013), where he played Dr. Ken Fields. He also appeared in Whatever Happened To? (2009), Celebrity Ghost Stories (2009), Meteor (2009), Heroes (2009), and Law & Order (2009–2010), playing Frank Gibson in the latter series.

His television credits from 2010 onward include Childrens Hospital (2010), Criminal Minds (2010), Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), White Collar (2011), Torchwood: Miracle Day (2011), Grey's Anatomy (2011), How I Met Your Mother (2011), Rizzoli & Isles (2011–2014), Unsung (2012), Hart of Dixie (2012), Nosferajew (2012), Franklin & Bash (2012–2014), Modern Family (2012–2016), Guys with Kids (2013), Last Resort (2013), Dan Vs. (2013), Let's Stay Together (2013), Scandal (2013), Ironside (2013), Dads (2013), and Mob City (2013). He appeared in Comic Book Men (2014), The Millers (2014), The Haunted Hathaways (2014), The Lottery (2014), Scorpion (2014), Key & Peele (2014), Hot in Cleveland (2014), and Once Upon a Time (2015).

From 2015 to 2020, Hudson played Jacob in Grace and Frankie. His additional television credits include Celebrity Family Feud (2016), Unsung Hollywood (2016), Robot Chicken (2016), Graves (2016), APB (2017), Angie Tribeca (2017), Twin Peaks (2017), Survivor's Remorse (2017), Spider-Man (2017), Lethal Weapon (2018), Blue Bloods (2018), and Ballers (2018). Beginning in 2018, he starred as L.C. Duncan in The Family Business. His subsequent credits include Hot Streets (2019), Arrow (2019), Infinity Train (2019), The Movies That Made Us (2019), Puppy Dog Pals (2019–2020), L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020), Reunited Apart (2020), The Irate Gamer (2020), Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020), MacGyver (2021), City on a Hill (2022), and Quantum Leap (2022–2024), in which he played Herbert "Magic" Williams. He also voiced Grini Millegi in Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2023), Chase Thundershock in Firebuds (2024), and Marlon in Angry Birds Mystery Island (2024). He appeared on The Masked Singer in 2025 and began playing Reverend Edwin Peters in Boston Blue in 2025.

Hudson's voice acting credits include Clifford's Really Big Movie (2004), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (2011), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva La Fiesta! (2012), Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Superman: The Animated Series (1997), Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), Robot Chicken (2016), Spider-Man (2017), Hot Streets (2019), Infinity Train (2019), Puppy Dog Pals (2019–2020), Home Movie: The Princess Bride (2020), Star Wars: The Bad Batch (2023), Firebuds (2024), and Angry Birds Mystery Island (2024). His video game credits include Ghostbusters: The Video Game (2009), Lego Dimensions (2015), Ghostbusters Pinball (2016), NBA 2K20 (2019), Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered (2019), and Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed (2022). He also appeared in Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" music video in 1984 and Run-DMC's "Ghostbusters" music video in 1989. Hudson was featured in the documentary Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters (2019).

In theater, Hudson appeared in the 2018 Goodspeed Musical production of Cyrano as Christian de Neuvillette and reprised the role in the 2019 Off-Broadway production by The New Group. His awards include a 2024 Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series for Quantum Leap and a win at the fourth Astra TV Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Broadcast Network or Cable Drama Series. In 2025, he received a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Single Voice Role Performer for Angry Birds Mystery Island.