Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 18, 1992 TAG: 9201180278
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
ATTENTION TAKES ACTOR BY SURPRISE
Ernie Hudson is known best for his roles in the hit movie "Ghostbusters" and its sequel. But this journeyman character actor has been in the business since 1969, and his career may change soon.He has a major supporting role in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle," an offbeat thriller from Disney's Hollywood Pictures that could become the year's first sleeper.
At the end of a quick, four-city promotion for the film, Hudson admitted that its success with preview audiences took him and the studio by surprise. "It's a little movie that's getting more attention than I ever thought it would."
His own interest in the film came when his agent showed him the script. At that stage, the character of Solomon was described as a slightly built redhead. More importantly, he's a mildly retarded man who finds himself defending a family when a demented woman tries to take over.
It's a terrific role. Hudson knew that from the beginning. He also knew that his casting was controversial. "It puts a different spin on things," he said in a recent interview. "After all, people could say, `Why is the only black character in the movie mentally disabled?' "
It took 2 1/2 months and three screen tests for Hudson to convince the producers that race didn't matter and that he could play the part. He was right to be persistent. Solomon is the kind of sympathetic underdog that movie audiences stand up and cheer for. He's brave, resolutely non-violent and has a surprising sense of humor.
As Hudson puts it, "Solomon is the best part of me, when I'm at my best, when I'm not protecting myself, looking over my shoulder.
"Solomon [represents] what I remember most about the old movies. It was clear who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. The good guys had a moral code of ethics that they didn't violate. Now we've swung so far with the anti-hero that we're sick of it. Solomon stands up, but he stays true to his own code."
If the film is successful, it could move Hudson into the first rank of character actors, but he says that's not the point. "I'm really having fun as long as I can keep the mortgage paid. I've managed to make a living. I've raised two children, and they're doing very well now. I'm raising two other children. I have a nice home and a fairly nice lifestyle on 11 acres 100 miles east of LA."
The success of the two "Ghostbusters" films has given him a realistic perspective on the business. "It's like the joke: I came to Hollywood to be rich and famous; I never realized you could be poor and popular."
After "Ghostbusters," he thought things would open up, and he took every job that was offered. Then, "I looked up five years later, and I was not pleased with the work I had done. In trying to figure it out, people suggested to me that maybe I hadn't been selective enough. So after the second `Ghostbusters,' I said I'll be more selective, and as a result there's been one role, this one. The roles just haven't been there for me."
That could well change now. "Ghostbusters," after all, wasn't exactly a character-driven story. It was about special effects and giant marshmallow men. "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is much smaller. It won't make nearly as much money, but it will find a sizable audience in theaters and on home video.
Those viewers are going to remember Solomon and Ernie Hudson.