An iconic Ghostbusters star revealed the details of his audition for the role of Commander Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Sisko was played by Avery Brooks for all 7 seasons of DS9. The first African American lead of a Star Trek series, Sisko later became the first Black Captain to lead a Star Trek series in DS9 season 3.
Ernie Hudson is best known for playing Winston Zeddemore in the Ghostbusters movie franchise. Hudson has joined the cast of Boston Blue, a Blue Bloods spinoff that stars Donnie Wahlberg and Sonequa Martin-Green, who led Star Trek: Discovery for 5 seasons as Captain Michael Burnham.
In an interview with Bleeding Cool about his role as Reverend Peters in Boston Blue, Ernie Hudson was asked about the possibility of his joining the Star Trek universe like his co-star Sonequa Martin-Green. Hudson explained that he auditioned for the lead role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine over 30 years ago. Read Ernie’s quote below:
I auditioned for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. When they told me that they were thinking about going with a black captain, this was back in the day, I thought, “They’re not going to make the captain the black guy.” They told me they wanted me to come in, so I went into the audition, and I read. I thought I did a good reading, and they liked me, then they wanted me to come back the next day.
They told me to “make him sexier,” and now I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know what that means, so I went to the meeting, and I did an Elvis [Presley] thing, and it was ridiculous. Halfway through my reading, they said, “Thank you. That’s enough,” so I didn’t get the role, but I’ve always been a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, and all those things, but hadn’t been asked to be in them for whatever reason. I suppose there are still possibilities, but yeah.
Ernie Hudson Has Another Connection To Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Avery Brooks
When asked if he had been willing to shave his head, the way Avery Brooks did as Captain Sisko in the later seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ernie Hudson told Bleeding Cool that he played Hawk with a shaved head in a 2001 Spenser TV movie. Read Hudson’s quote below:
Funny thing, you said it, because there’s Reverend [Raphael] Warnock, who’s the head of Martin Luther King’s Baptist Church in Atlanta. He’s also a senator who has a shaved head, and for years, I wore my head shaved. I did a TV movie called ‘Walking Shadow’ (2001) with Joey Montagna playing the lead as Spenser, but I played the role of Hawk, and my head was shaved. I’ve worked many times with a shaved head, and on this show [‘Boston Blue’], I wanted to shave my head. I told the producers. I showed them a couple of pictures, and they said, “Well, that’s interesting, Ernie, but no thanks.” I think they wanted the hair and mustache.
Before Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Avery Brooks was perhaps best known for playing Hawk in Spenser for Hire, opposite Robert Urich. Brooks’ bald and streetwise hero proved so popular with audiences that he received his own spinoff titled A Man Called Hawk.
Our Take On Ernie Hudson Auditioning For Sisko’s Role On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Ernie Hudson being one of the actors who auditioned and was considered for the role of Commander Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a fascinating revelation. Hudson was already beloved for Ghostbusters, and if cast, he could have brought that mainstream audience to Star Trek.
It’s also interesting that Hudson initially didn’t believe Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s producers were serious that they were “going to make the Captain a black guy.” While an African-American series lead did manifest for DS9, it took three seasons for Commander Sisko to be promoted to Captain.
Of course, Avery Brooks did stellar and unforgettable work as Captain Sisko, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans still yearn for him to reprise the role, although Brooks has retired from acting.
Meanwhile, Ernie Hudson, who is 79, seems ageless as he continues to be cast in high-profile roles like Boston Blue. Somewhere in the multiverse, however, there may be an alternate reality where Ernie Hudson played Captain Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- Release Date
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1993 – 1999-00-00
- Showrunner
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Michael Piller, Ira Steven Behr
