Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films Leviathan (1989), The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The Crow (1994), Airheads (1994), The Basketball Diaries (1995), Congo (1995), Miss Congeniality (2000), and The Ron Clark Story (2006). His most prominent role on television was Warden Leo Glynn on HBO's Oz (1997–2003). Hudson has also appeared in the television shows St. Elsewhere (1984), The Last Precinct (1986), 10-8: Officers on Duty (2003–2004), Desperate Housewives (2006–2007), The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013), Law & Order (2009–2010), the voice of Agent Bill Fowler in Transformers: Prime (2010–2013), Franklin & Bash (2012–2014), Grace and Frankie (2015–2020), and L.A.'s Finest (2019–2020). From 2022 to 2024, Hudson appeared as Herbert "Magic" Williams on the NBC drama Quantum Leap.

Filmography

• 2026Toy Story 5 — Combat Carl (voice)
• Boston Blue — Rev. Edwin Peters
• 2025FEEL — Sitter 10
• Angry Birds Mystery Island — Marlon (voice)
• 2024Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire — Winston Zeddemore
• 2023Champions — Coach Phil Peretti
• 2023Ghost in the House — Writer
• 2023Prisoner's Daughter — Hank
• 2023The Retirement Plan — Joseph
• Quantum Leap — Herbert 'Magic' Williams
• 2021Beebo Saves Christmas — Santa Claus (voice)
• 2021Ghostbusters: Afterlife — Winston Zeddemore
• 2021Redemption Day — Ed Paxton
• Star Wars: The Bad Batch — Grini Millegi (voice)
• Home Movie: The Princess Bride — Prince Humperdinck
• 2019Adventure Force 5 — Dr. Lawrence Abel
• City on a Hill — Franklin Ward
• Infinity Train — Atticus (voice)
• L.A.'s Finest — Joseph Vaughn
• The Movies That Made Us — Winston Zeddemore (archive footage)
• Carl Weber's The Family Business — L.C. Duncan, Executive Producer
• 2018High & Outside: A Baseball Noir — Sanzone
• 2018Nappily Ever After — Richard Jones
• APB — Ned Conrad
• Angie Tribeca — Pete Tribeca
• 2016Batman: Bad Blood — Lucius Fox (voice)
• 2016Ghostbusters — Uncle Bill
• 2016God's Not Dead 2 — Judge Stennis
• Graves — Jacob Mann
• 2016Heaven Sent — Donatello
• 2016Infinity Train — Atticus (voice)
• Lethal Weapon — Hank Peterson
• MacGyver — Milton Bozer
• 2016Spaceman — Joe
• 2016The Man in the Silo — Marcus Wells
• Ballers — Mr. Hagerty
• 2015Gallows Road — Bob Collins
• Grace and Frankie — Jacob
• 2014Merry Ex-Mas — Pastor Ed
• Scorpion — Brooks
• 2014The Grim Sleeper — Detective Gerry Claymar
• 2014The Last Song — Guest
• 2014To Hell and Back — Joe
• 2014Touched — Dr. Beck
• 2014You're Not You — John
• 2013Battledogs — Max Stevens
• 2013Call Me Crazy: A Five Film — Percy
• 2013Dear Secret Santa — Pastor Avery
• 2013Doonby — Leroy Jackson
• Ironside — Bludso
• The Millers — Walter
• 2013Turning Point — Joe Johnson
• 2012Ambush at Dark Canyon — Cyrus Parker
• Arrow — Roy Stewart
• 2012Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3: Viva la Fiesta! — Pedro (voice)
• 2012Deer Crossing — Captain Bailey
• Guys with Kids — The Judge
• Key & Peele — Dad
• Scandal — Commander Randolph Boles
• 2012The Adventures of Mickey Matson and the Copperhead Conspiracy — Ivan Stumpwater
• 2011Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 — Pedro
• 2011Deep Blue Breath — Lord Vater (voice)
• Franklin & Bash — Judge Lawrence Perry
• Hart of Dixie — Ernie Hayes
• Once Upon a Time — King Poseidon
• 2011Underground Entertainment: The Movie — Ernie
• Blue Bloods — Darryl Ward
• 2010Game of Death — Clarence
• Hot in Cleveland — Ernie Hudson
• 2010Machete Joe — Sheriff Taylor
• Rizzoli & Isles — Admiral Frost
• 2010Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball — Anthony Vejar
• 2010Stasis — Stranger
• Transformers: Prime — Agent William Fowler (voice)
• 2009Dragonball Evolution — Sifu Norris
• 2009Fatal Secrets — Detective Carter
• 2009Lonely Street — Captain Morgan
• Meteor — Gen. Brasser
• Modern Family — Miles
• 2009Pastor Brown — Deacon Harold Todd
• White Collar — Mr. Jeffries
• Childrens Hospital — Hubert McGraw
• 2008Final Approach — Agent Lorenzo Dawson
• The Secret Life of the American Teenager — Dr. Ken Fields
• 2007All Hat — Jackson Jones
• 2007Nobel Son — Bill Canega
• Private Practice — Captain Frank
• Heroes — Captain Lubbock
• 2006Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School — Blake Rische
• Psych — William Guster
• 2006Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror — Roscoe
• 2006The Ron Clark Story — Principal Turner
• Torchwood — Stuart Owens
• Bones — David Barron
• Criminal Minds — Lt. Al Garner
• 2005Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story — Perry Beasley
• Grey's Anatomy — Brad McDougall
• 2005Halfway Decent — Tom
• How I Met Your Mother — Ernie Hudson
• 2005Lackawanna Blues — Dick Barrymore
• 2005Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous — Harry McDonald
• Robot Chicken — Detective Ernie / Judge Hudson Jr. / Justin's Dad (voice)
• 2004Clifford's Really Big Movie — P.T. (voice)
• Desperate Housewives — Detective Ridley
• 10-8: Officers on Duty — Senior Deputy John Henry Barnes
• 2003Anne B. Real — Principal
• Cold Case — Moses Jones
• Las Vegas — Bob Casey
• Everwood — Bill Hoover
• Without a Trace — Manny Aybar
• 2001A Town Without Christmas — Ted
• Crossing Jordan — Colonel Wirth
• 2001Walking Shadow — Hawk
• 2000Everything's Jake — Jake
• 2000Miss Congeniality — McDonald
• 2000Nowhere to Land — Danny Gorlin
• 2000Paper Bullets — Detective Ron Mills
• 2000Red Letters — Detective Glen Teal
• 2000The Watcher — FBI Special Agent in Charge Mike Ibby
• 1999A Stranger in the Kingdom — Rev. Walter Andrews
• 1999Hijack — Senator Douglas Wilson
• 1999Interceptors — Major
• 1999Michael Jordan: An American Hero
• 1999Miracle on the 17th Green
• 1999Shark Attack — Lawrence Rhodes
• 1999Stealth Fighter — President Westwood
• 1998Best of the Best 4: Without Warning — Detective Gresko
• 1998Butter — Curtis '8-Ball' Harris
• 1998October 22 — Arthur
• 1997Clover — Gaten Hill
• 1997Fakin' Da Funk — Joe Lee
• 1997Levitation — Downbeat
• 1997Mr. Magoo — Agent CIA Gus Anders
• 1997Operation Delta Force — Major Tipton
• Oz — Leo Glynn
• Stargate SG-1 — Pernaux
• Arli$$ — Warden Leo Glynn
• 1996For Which He Stands — DEA Agent Baxter
• 1996Just Your Luck — Willie
• Superman: The Animated Series — Professor Felix (voice)
• 1996The Cherokee Kid — Nat Love aka Deadwood Dick
• 1996The Substitute — Claude Rolle
• 1996Tornado! — Dr. Joe Branson
• 1995Congo — Captain Monroe Kelly
• 1995The Basketball Diaries — Reggie
• 1994Airheads — Sergeant O'Malley
• ER — James Gallant
• 1994No Escape — Hawkins
• 1994Speechless — Ventura
• 1994Sugar Hill — Lolly Jonas
• 1994The Cowboy Way — Officer Sam 'Mad Dog' Shaw
• 1994The Crow — Albrecht
• Touched by an Angel — Norm McCloud
• Wild Palms — Tommy Lazlo
• Angel Street — Thurman Nickens
• Batman: The Animated Series — Security Guard (voice)
• The Ben Stiller Show
• 1992The Hand That Rocks the Cradle — Solomon
• Broken Badges — Toby Baker
• Cop Rock — Cmdr. Warren Osborne
• Law & Order — Frank Gibson
• Twin Peaks — Colonel Davis
• 1989Collision Course — Shortcut
• 1989Ghostbusters II — Winston Zeddemore
• 1989Leviathan — Justin Jones
• Tales from the Crypt — Zambini
• The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! — Ernie Hudson
• 1989Trapper County War — Jefferson Carter
• 1988The Dirty Dozen: The Fatal Mission — Joe Hamilton
• 1988The Wrong Guys — Dawson
• Full House — Reggie "The Sandman" Martin
• 1987Weeds — Bagdad
• 1986The Last Precinct — Night Train
• The Last Precinct — Sergeant Lane
• 1985California Girls — Ernie
• 1985Love on the Run — Lamar
• The Insiders — Brewster
• The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians — Cyborg (voice)
• 1984Ghostbusters — Winston Zeddemore
• 1984Joy of Sex — Mr. Porter
• 1984On the Scene with the Ghostbusters
• 1983Going Berserk — Muhammed Jerome Willy
• 1983Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone — Washington
• The A-Team — Cal Freeman
• 1983Two of a Kind — Det. Skaggs
• Webster
• 1983Women of San Quentin — Charles Wilson
• 1982Penitentiary II — Half Dead
• St. Elsewhere — Jerry Close
• The New Odd Couple — Moses Brown
• 1981A Matter of Life and Death — Mr. Harrison
• 1981Crazy Times — Harold 'Jazzman' Malloy
• Flamingo Road
• 1981Underground Aces — African General
• Bosom Buddies
• 1980Skag
• 1980The $5.20 an Hour Dream — Homer Burden
• 1980The Jazz Singer — Heckler
• 1980The Octagon — Quinine
• 1980White Mama — Counsellor
• Detective School
• Highcliffe Manor — Smythe
• 1979Joni — Earl
• Roots: The Next Generations — Muslim at Door
• 1979The Main Event — Killer
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Fantasy Island — Jamu
• 1978Last of the Good Guys — El Coliph
• Taxi — Terry Carver
• The White Shadow — Johnson
• 1977Mad Bull — Black Bart
• 1977Man from Atlantis IV: The Disappearances — Minion
• The Incredible Hulk — Lee
• 1976Leadbelly — Archie
• 1976The Human Tornado — Bo
• Little House on the Prairie — William Thomas
• Super Friends — Cyborg (voice)
• Beautiful People — Jack
• Deepest, Darkest
• Famous
• Hal
• Mr. Beebee — Wayne Proctor
• Oswald: Down The Rabbit Hole — Oswald Jebediah Coleman
• Sisters in Italy

Appearances as themselves (22)

• 2025John Candy: I Like Me — Self - Actor (archive footage)
• 2024Returning to the Firehouse: Making Frozen Empire — Self
• 2023Darrin's Dance Grooves: The Untold Darrin Henson Story — Self (voiceover)
• 2022In Search of Tomorrow — Self - Interviewee
• Sherri — Self - Guest
• 2022Summoning the Spirit: Making Ghostbusters: Afterlife — Self
• The Jennifer Hudson Show — Self
• 2020Cleanin' Up the Town: Remembering Ghostbusters — Self
• Reunited Apart — Self
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• The Masked Singer — Self - Special Guest
• Steve — Self
• 2016Ghostheads — Self
• 2015Horror Icon: Inside Michael's Mask with Tony Moran — Self
• Late Night with Seth Meyers — Self - Guest
• 2014Showing Up — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self
• The Last Leg — Self
• Comic Book Men — Self
• Celebrity Ghost Stories — Self
• 2005Confessions of an Action Star — Self / Commander
• The View — Self