Defying Expectations: Ernie Hudson’s Advice on Dreams and Challenges

You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush and trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. And today we're talking to an icon, the man that I actually wanted to be when I grew up. And we're talking about from Ghostbusters to the crow, from Oz to the family business. He is a Hollywood legend. He is a legend of men. He is a legend of the culture. And he has spent five decades commanding the screen with grit, grace and purpose. He's more than an actor. He's a storyteller, a mentor and a survivor in an industry that rarely makes room for either. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and pleasure to introduce the living icon, Mr. Ernie Hudson. Mr. Hudson, how are you doing today, sir? I'm very good. Thank you for the introduction. I think that is the absolute warmest, nicest introduction I think I've ever had. So thank you so much. I'm not I'm not going to take that. I want to, but I know you've had some. I know you've had some, but but Ernie, man. Like I was telling you offline, you know, 15, 20 years ago, when I was trying to say if I could be like someone because, you know, this is no secret to those that know me. Like my dad in my household wasn't the symbol of manhood that I should look to. Right. And so I used to find that I used to seek that and I would take pieces of people and say, this is who I'm going to be. Or this is how I want to model my life. And then I got to know not just Ernie Hudson, the actor, but the man, the father, the husband, the things you were doing in community, the way you were impacting people. And I said, that is it. From a manhood perspective, I want to be Ernie Hudson. So I just wanted to thank you for being that role model that you did not even know that you were, brother. Yeah, no, that's the amazing thing about life in general. You know, we impact lives. We touch people. We have no idea, but it makes a difference. And, you know, my grandmother who raised me said that Jesus was the light of the world, but we're all lights and we all have a responsibility to, you know, show what is possible. Because you don't know who's watching. Well, again, I appreciate you, brother. So much, so much. And Mr. Hudson, I love to start my show by asking my guests about their because. Right. Like not your why, but that thing that's deeper than your why. Like I call it your true purpose. Like if I were to ask someone what's your why, they say like my kids or my family. But then when I say, but why, they usually say, well, because blah, blah, blah. I care about the because. So if I were to say Ernie Hudson today, what's your because? Well, that's just kind of interesting. I think because the simplest way is because I can, because I'm still able to, because for reasons, some of my own, some of just God given, I'm blessed to be able to do what I do at a level that I, you know, I'm, I don't say I'm proud of, but I enjoy. But the real I suppose because is, you know, having family, having children. I talked about being an example, but just the possibilities because in our community, African American community, we hear all the stories of what is expected. We want to, you know, be an example of what's possible. You know, I'll turn 80 in less than a week and team. Yes, there on the 17th. And I never, well, I shouldn't say I never expected, but that's a big number, even in my mind, but to be blessed to, to work and move around the way I am, you know, I see friends. And so if God has given me this ability, I want to out of that and certainly, you know, do the best that I can do with the gift said God has given me. You totally are doing that. And then some, so again, you, you are living your because and I see it every day. And, you know, you talk about turning 80 soon. And I know you hear this all the time. Ernie Hudson doesn't look 80, doesn't move 80. Does it? Like, I don't want to know what the secret is. What I want to know is, can I be adopted, get the last name Hudson so that maybe through osmosis that rubs off for me? Because I've seen the genetics. I've seen Ernie Jr. I've seen really man, like I'm trying to be a Hudson. How about that? You know, I've been very, but I have four sons and they're all amazing, totally different in their own ways. Yeah, I feel very, very, I was a single dad to the first two and now my wife and I, we've been together for close to 50 years. But yeah, I'm just so proud of all the kids and none of them are quite living the lives that I expected. Then I had to let go and just go, you know what, do your thing and I'm here for you. And as I get older, parenting, looking at your children and realizing that it's their own journey and you have to support them. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I want to talk a little bit about your journey. I mean, again, for years, you've been that person I wanted to be. And so I feel like I know more about Ernie Hudson than most people, right? So, you know, starting out in theater and doing things at Wayne State University, like, when did you know that this was a path that you wanted to travel? You know, I think it was in 66. I had, I'd been trying, trying jobs. I got married in 64, you know, right out of high school. My wife was just turned 16. So it was small town. This is what people did. My ex-wife, who eventually earned a PhD, was really brilliant. She sort of introduced me to books and just started thinking out of the box. I went to the military. That didn't work out. Came back. And so I was trying all kinds of jobs. I just wanted to, my grandmother raised me and said, you know, I want you to be something. So trying different jobs. I finally found a job with the Michigan Bell Telephone Company as a communications consultant where I got to wear a tie and I had a little secretary and I hated it. So I just felt a little frustrated because I've been trying so hard to find something. And we had moved to Detroit and I had an argument with my then wife and I just had to get out of the house. I remember driving around and I saw a line of people lined up to go into this this building, it wasn't a movie theater, but and out of curiosity, I just sort of stopped and asked what was going on. And he said there was a play. I'd never seen a professional play. And I went in, took a seat and it was a play called Papa's Daughter. And it was about a father whose daughter got pregnant and he disowned her. And then in the end, they come back together. And when it was over, I was I was so moved. I was in tears. And I thought, oh, my God, that is like, you know, if I could do something like that, but that's too big a prayer. I can't even ask God for that. And that coming semester, I needed an elective and I took a theater enacting class and literally when I walked in the theater and walked on stage, it just like I knew this. I was home. You know, I'd never been home before. I'm all my life. You know, you're looking for this, you're looking for that. I felt I'm home. This is it. And that's when you ask God that prayer. If you bless me to do this, I will. Honor it. I will show up on time. I will do my best, you know, and and from that time on, except for maybe a couple of things, I've never had to earn a living outside of my profession. I was with a group of actors, Joey Montaigne, Tim Daly, Joe Panleano. We were all sitting around and they were telling me my various jobs. They had to work in between. And I've been blessed even raising a family to be able to earn a living acting and going to business. And then let's talk about from theater and plays to the big screen. Right. And and for those that are listening, those that are watching, that's not easy either. Right. Like you may want to do the Hollywood route, but being selected, breaking into Hollywood, especially at the time, it's not easy now, but you could argue it's a little bit easier now than it was in the late 60s, early 70s when you broke in, like, talk to us about that transition from theater to Hollywood. Well, I mean, just the numbers now you're trying TV and it's it's not at all. And usually see multiple, a lot of shows having black, even black leads. That was unheard of. I mean, it might be Sydney Portier, but there will only be one Sydney Portier until Denzel comes along. But so they have to reject the roles. They have to reject them for anybody to even else to get them. You know, so yeah, that was and it was very clear. And then roots came out. I remember roots came out and we thought it would open up and it went the other way. It shut things down. I mean, it's so it's a deliberate attempt to not include us. But I got into theater in probably the first 10 years from 66 until maybe 73. I think I was on stage. I did plays. I think that's where the confidence where you just, you know, where you you love the craft. I tell people as a kind of a joke that, you know, the theater is where I found love and movies and TV is like sex. You know, it's great if you can get it. But, you know, don't think this is love because, you know, they'll move on very quickly. But in the theater, you know, you rehearse for four weeks and you get to know the people and they're like your family and you support each other. And it was very, very supportive. When I came out to Hollywood was kind of my marriage ended. And I really wanted to go to New York, but my ex-wife, who was then working on her PhD, did not want to take the kids, which was a shock to me because I never heard of anybody. Not how do you not take the kids? But she was serious. And so me and the kids came to Hollywood and I came to Hollywood because I have a brother who was there and I knew that no matter what happened, he would always be sort of a backup. And I got a little one bedroom apartment and I heard a number one in 10. So in my mind, if I can get one in 10 interviews, I'm going to be okay. So there was a lot of rejection, but I never got the one in 10. It was always, I never, you know, it was always, and I think it's just a lot of, I talked to a lot of men about taking the responsibility. I was a little thrown off when I had to take the responsibility of my kids because I thought it would hold me back. But the truth is it's the thing that really gave me a certain determination. I'd go into a meeting and they would say, no, thank you. And I would go now hold up. We're going to do this again because I need this job. I need to set an example for my son and what's possible. I didn't want to say to them, oh, this is America. You can do whatever. And yet I can't live my dream. So I was just determined. I think that maybe the biggest thing, and I talk a lot about this one, I didn't have a dad, never knew my father or never met him. And my grandmother would say that God is my father. And as a little kid, I kind of embraced that because I was always embarrassed by that. My brother, I have a half brother. He knew his father. His father wasn't around, but at least he knew who he was. And so Hudson is my brother's name. My grandmother wanted to keep the same names. And she would say that that source that is our creator is aware of us and will aid us. And it speaks to us and it will guide us. And that's our birthright. It's not like you have to go and join somebody's whatever. And so all my life, especially when it came to acting, I realized that I didn't have the money or the connection, but that source would guide me. And it would open doors when I couldn't even imagine. And so there were times when it would be like impossible, yet somehow or other a way was made. And I knew that I it wasn't me doing the making. You know, so it was my job to show up and be prepared and give my best. But that was pretty much all I could do because I didn't, you know, I didn't have friends who could manipulate things or knew anybody who, but I just had to a story in the Bible about the brides who were waiting for the groom and then several of them fell asleep and they weren't prepared, but the one who was ready. So my job was always to be ready for that, that opportunity. And God is now on one hand, I think when I said that prayer about wanting to be an actor, maybe I should have thrown in there, you know, multi-millions. And you were not in that prayer. Yeah, I should have been more specific. You know, I wanted to be a working actor and God has blessed me to do that. And I'm very thankful. But I've had friends who've come along and gone on to get a bigger name or whatever. But I look at my, you know, my family and I've been blessed to travel the world. And I have no regrets, but sometimes you've got to go, well, there's no Oscar on my shelf there, you know, so, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's true. Yeah. And I, um, I'm just very, very, very blessed. But I know that it's because of, you know, a lot of people say, well, they believe in God and all that. And I'm not pushing any kind of religion, but, um, I do believe there's a source. I see a lot of people say they do, but they're, they shouldn't be very afraid of a lot of things. I'm like, if that's true, then I don't really have to worry about it. I just, I just have to show up. Don't get long answer. I apologize. I can run on sometimes. No, no, no, that's perfect. This, this is your time. And I'm never, I'm just honored that you're here with me. And hearing you say those things makes me reflect back to, to the roles that you play. Like I look at you and the roles that you play seem to carry like a moral weight to them, right? Your leaders or fathers, men of principle, is that on purpose by the roles that you select, like walk us through, like how you select the roles that you will say yes to. Well, to some extent it's on purpose. You know, I always say most actors don't know why they're not working and they don't know why they are working. Cause nobody will tell you the truth in Hollywood. I should say nobody, but it's rarely where you get the truth. I think you bring a certain spirit to what you do, even though the characters hopefully are different. And, and I believe the characters should serve the story. So I'm here to tell the story. And if you don't believe that I am what I'm supposed to be, then if you so focus on me and how I look and all that, then that's, that's a problem. But, but I've been asked to do things that I kind of go, you know what, I, I, I, I don't want to do that. And other people have done those roles and did very well. And I have nothing bad to say about that. It's just, it wasn't right for me to do. I think there's a reason things didn't unfold in certain ways because sometimes there's a weightedness. If it was a great story and the character was something, but unless there's a reason for me to be a certain way and sometimes I've done things where they wanted me to be less than to underplay so much that it made somebody else. And I kind of had to fight those. But so, and then also a lot of the work is just the work that's offered. You know, it's not like, you know, there's a pile of scripts on, there's never been a pile of scripts on my desk that I'm going through. What do I want to do next? You know, say whatever comes up and then you, you have the choice to say yes or no. And like I said, there's a few times when I just, I just, I did a, a television show called High Cliff Manor. This was one of the first shows I got back in the seventies. And it was, it was a, it was a character from South Africa. It was a budu priest and his name was Bambo. And he had gold teeth and earring. And in it, it was a comedy. Him and his guy, his partner, who we call Buana, rode a canoe across the ocean to get to America, some nonsense. And a bad boy, I needed a job and, you know, me and the kids and the red was due and I went in and I auditioned and did, you know, and they laughed, but I always had to feel like they were kind of laughing at me, you know, and then I got the job and we were having some friends over and Shirley Ralph was at this little gathering and she was sort of looking through the script and she said, Oh my God, and everything stopped. So I know you're not going to do this. Now I hadn't really wanted to think about this, but then, you know, this character named Bambo and it's like Sambo and, you know, all these things that were there. And so we were in the middle of rehearsing and I just, I just finally had to say, you know, I can't do this. That's what to the producers and said, I know there are a lot of people out there who would love the job is more money than I ever made in my life, but I can't and thank you very much. So I left and two days later, they called me and said, you know, we thought about what you said and we, we'd like to fix this and we really want you. And so they changed the name from Bambo to smite and he's a budu priest. So we understand that, but how about we make, he's a PhD. So it's a PhD. You don't need that earring or the gold teeth and so they bet a lot to me. We don't have to say Buona, you know, and I think it taught me, it was early on that, you know, a lot of things you can just go, no, sometimes they may, they may not agree, but at least, you know, you can make the changes because up until the end, I'm from theater and you try to do what's written there. But that's a different situation. I did a television show with Ted Knight called Too Close for Comfort and there was a line where I come in and we're ex convicts who come to repair this hole in the walls in the story. And as I walk in, I see the hole and I go, hold it in my hell, yeah. And which means no sense. I don't know what that means. I'm like, and I got the job and I said, you know, I, I, I can't, I can't do this. I mean, I don't even, you know, and the cast agreed. Ted Knight and they all kind of came to my defense said, yeah, that, why does that have to say that it makes no sense and just looks, but the producer said, no, I want him to say it when he did the audition. He said it and it was funny and I, I, I wanted to stop funny. I just doesn't make any sense. He said, well, you do it or I'll just have to get somebody else. So then I thought about the car payment and the rent. First, I said, oh man, it's due, right? Reality. So I said, oh man, I don't think anybody ever saw it anyways. But yeah, but I think you do have to go, you know, is this, is this because you're going to live with it for a long time. Those shows we did in the seventies, they're still playing, you know, on air and, you know, and you have to, you have to own up to it. But, but I try, I try to maintain a certain integrity of the work that I do. Absolutely. And, and, you know, my favorite show this out now is Ernie Hudson and it's, it's the family business. And, and again, you're, as I'm becoming the patriarch of my family, right? Like it's like I'm about to be that right there. But how you, again, the character that you have, the power that you play in building a family empire and portraying, you know, just that for, for our culture. How important has that role been to you personally? Yeah, it's been great. And I have to give a huge shout out to Carl Weber. He first got in touch with you about this project and said, I want to work with you. I respect your work. And because a lot of times in the past, especially had to fight, I don't fight for rules much anymore, but, you know, you had to go through changes. And it's the lead, which is usually I'm playing somebody else's something. And it's about this family, but it's a mob family. I didn't see it. It's very clearly that's, but, but I know at the heart of it, it's about family. And it's about, you know, my children. In fact, this season, kids can be challenging. But, but it was a chance for me to play that, to be that father, Valerie, the peddler for who plays my wife. I love her so much because, yeah, so, so that's what it's about. I'm amazed at the amount of respect and appreciation that the fans have really come to it because at first I wasn't sure we started with very little money. And then, you know, we, we made a little movie and then B.T. sort of added some and made a first season and then we kind of, and I think it's gotten a lot better. The actors have really grown so much in this. And it's a great show. We can bring in a lot of friends, people that I know work on the show as a guy named Patrick Duffy, who plays the Southern sheriff. The first movie, not the first movie I got, but the first movie I got when I moved to Hollywood was a man from Atlantis. And I had a little partner. He was the big star. He was the star of the show. So that was, I don't know, 50 years ago or something. It's, it's great for me to have him on the show and to, and kind of see that circle. But now I do a show called Boston Blue where I'm the patriarch, but I'm a Baptist pastor. But it's also family. And family is, that was the most fascinating thing for me. And I love being able to kind of explore it in these different roles. Like I said, growing up without a dad and not knowing my mom. She died when I was three months old. So, but I had my grandmother. People don't tell you much about. So I had my brother. I would see families and, and I think the thing I wanted more than anything. I didn't think about a profession as much as I wanted to be a dad. I wanted to have a chance to do it for someone what nobody ever did for me. You know, nobody introduced me to sports. Nobody took the time to do. So families, you know, and how we connect, how we, I have grandkids, great grandkids. And it's, it's, it's challenging because it's, but, but I loved the family business and being able to, to be that patriarch. And also if I'm going to have to do this illegal thing, which we don't focus on a lot or as much, you know, but it, it, it, like I said, it's more about family, but at least be reasonable. You know, if I have to do something, you will know why I had to do it, not just me because I'm the boss and whatever. So anyway, definitely my favorite show. First season, I binge watched it in like a day and a half, like literally the whole first season and I've been hooked and it's literally one of, like I said, my, my favorite show this out there now. So kudos to you for that. You talked about Boston Blue. So before I get you out of here with my quick five, what else is Ernie Hudson working on? Well, you know, between those two shows and I'm up here and we shoot it, Boston Blue in Toronto. I never worked in Toronto and at my age now, I'm like, oh, this is, I'm not at home. So we're going to have to have a conversation and we move for, we got picked up for a second season, but yeah, it's, you know, so it's, it's fun. But also, um, toy story, um, and I'm doing a lot of it at Carl Wethers. Yeah. I'm known Carl for 40 years, but he originated the thing, the role in, in GI Joe or something. So when I took the role, I had no idea this was true. The fans informed me that it happened, but which is fine. And, but I'll, so I'm going to be doing that. I think it comes out next year on the new toy story. And there's another project of being ghost buses that I can't talk about. I'm like, really? We won't say anything about it. Yeah. So I, you know, what, I'm, so they call me Ernie, you know, you can't. Anyway, fans tell me everything I know about ghost buses. They know about it things before I even hear of it. But yeah, I know. So I've been blessed to stay busy and, you know, I did a, just did a, uh, kind of a layout for men's fitness. I did this thing called Jim DeFridge, which has been, I guess it's on YouTube. But so I'm, I'm trying to convince them that, you know, I'll be a great cover for men over a certain age and men in general. I was like, men over 30. That's Ernie Huston right there. You are the model. Uh, so hopefully I would love to, uh, but I'm just, I just stay busy, you know, and let's do, you know, the fall still rings and, uh, you know, I, you know, people say, when will you retire? And I, in my business, thankfully you don't have to retire. You retire when they stop calling you. But also I think there's a point when I've worked with some fellow actors, some younger than me, but they struggle with lines and memorizing. And sometimes even physically I was working with a friend who was on a walker, you know, just physically not capable. I think at the time comes when I'm no longer capable of bringing my best. I think that's one of that. I think I hope I'm aware enough to, to just step aside as opposed to someone telling me that I need to. Yeah, absolutely. Well, again, honor to have you on. I'm going to get you out of here, rapid fire, five questions. Oh yeah. You ready? Sure. All right. What's the favorite, your, your favorite line that you've delivered on screen? What comes to mind? Right off the top of my head. If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say. I don't know if that is, but that's what came to my mind. There you go. There you go. What's one movie you wish you would have started? One movie. Maybe, you know, the Rocky stuff, the Rocky movies. Yeah, that would have been, and I love what called in. I take anything away, but I think I could have bought it. Yeah, I wish I could have started that. There you go. Good stuff. I think I know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask it anyway. What's one hidden talent that you have that most people don't know about? Hidden talent. I think I'm, I think I have a comedic talent that I, I've done some comedies, but I've never been able to, you know, just take some material and have fun. That's exactly what I would have said. Oh, yeah. No, I think most people think I'm very serious and I'm going, I don't know. I think maybe the voice. Yeah. I need things while he's very, and I'm, I'm, I always feel like I've never had a job. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. I have not, but people do. I have raising kids. I know how to, to turn my voice and maybe expression to just make the, when I'm on the set and people get a little too goofy friendly, I'm not going to make a backup. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Talking about fitness, how often are you in the gym now? You know, I'll be really honest with this because, yeah, a lot of people think I, I'm very inconsistent. I'll get in a mold and I get to the gym three times a week, sometimes four. And then I'll do that for two and a half months. And then I don't do anything for six months. You know what I mean? I, if I get caught up with stuff, but when I say I don't do anything, I don't, I don't get in the gym. I've never been a gym rat. I've never been a bodybuilder, you know, whatever I am, it's God given. But I will now as I've gotten older, probably from my, definitely my 70s. I'll stretch out to a light stretching because you want to be flexible because of one of the biggest dangers that you get over is falling down and breaking something. So I'll try to stretch and I, there are five things I do. I do pushups. I'll try to get to a, I'll try to, I do about a hundred pushups, but with three sets. So maybe I'll do 40 at first and then whatever. But as long as it's over a hundred, some kind of, some of the crunches, you know, squat, I mean, the crunches or sit ups or leg raises, something that focuses on the abdominal muscle squats that just gets the blood going in my legs and planks. But that just could be, because for me, the fountain, not the fountain abuse, but the look of you is in the midsection. You know, you, no matter what's happening, if you can keep that midsection, you know, so that's the area that I kind of focus on. If I lay flat on my back and I don't get the full extent of my rib cage, I know that I probably should. And also, I think as I get older, hasn't been so much exercise as much as dieting and sometimes fasting, if I really feel, if I get started, get out of stream, I'll just stop eating. So, you know, just being aware, you know, of what we're taking in, because you exercise all you want, but you're not eating right, you know, so just being aware of the common sense stuff that I said, the universe will guide you. And we know my grandmother say, don't, don't, don't worry about doing something brilliant. Don't worry about, you know, just don't do the stupid. And we all know what the stupid stuff is anyway. And there's a price to pay for it. So just use your common sense. Absolutely. Last question, Mr. Hudson, today, if you could describe your life in one word, what would that one word be? Blessed, blessed, blessed. Just the last thing I do before I go to bed is get on my knees and pray in the first thing in the morning and just get the thanks. My prayer is just thank you. Mm. I just, yeah, just. I was, they dedicated the street I grew up on. They changed the name to my name. I went back for the ceremony, had a lot of state representatives and city officials and all that, but there were hundreds of little kids who lived in the projects where I, who kind of came out. And I thought they all reminded me so much of me. And I realized that there was no, I wasn't an athlete that could jump higher than I was in a, I was just a kid, but I had a faith in something that allowed me to dream outside the box and not be limited by, because society tries to limit our dreams. And I know that there's greater things and that's that belief in God. And if some people know a lot of people in trouble with the word God, I don't think it matters, you know, the universe or whatever. Or whatever they got us here has carried me through my life and something. Man, this has been my favorite interview. I finally got to talk to the person that I was shaping my fatherhood around. And I can't thank you enough, Mr. Hudson. And I know you're going to say call you Ernie, but you were Mr. Hudson right now. And because I owe you that, because you mean that much to me. So thank you so much. Thank you. And you honored me by just saying that. I mean, honestly, I just, just, you know, you're, you're the, the next generation coming up. So just, you know, I admire and appreciate you. Thank you, doctor. It's been your best. Thank you so much. And to all the viewers and listeners, remember, you're because is your superpower. Go unleashing. That's another powerful conversation on Mick unplugged. If this episode moved you, and I'm sure it did, follow the show, whatever you listen, share it with someone who needs that spark and leave a review so more people can find there because I'm Rudy rush. And until next time, stay driven, stay focused and stay unplugged.