Winston Zeddemore is a fictional character appearing in the Ghostbusters films, TV series, and video games. He was played by Ernie Hudson in films and was voiced by Arsenio Hall in the first three seasons of The Real Ghostbusters. Buster Jones provided Winston's voice in the remaining seasons, and he reprised the role in a cameo on Extreme Ghostbusters. Hudson returned to provide his appearance and voice to Zeddemore in 2009's Ghostbusters: The Video Game and 2022's Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed. Conception and creation In the original script for Ghostbusters, Winston Zeddemore was intended to be part of the Ghostbusters team from the beginning, a former "Air Force major something, a demolitions expert". This was revised in subsequent drafts after Hudson was cast. His character was originally intended to represent the audience, but was rewritten to be "an outsider and a late addition" to the Ghostbusters team. He is the only member of the team who does not have an advanced degree. Veteran actor Yaphet Kotto auditioned and was offered the role, but had to drop out due to other commitments. After working with him the previous year on Trading Places, Dan Aykroyd originally wanted Eddie Murphy to play the role of Winston Zeddemore. Aware of his comic abilities, his characterization of Winston would have been in a semi-improvisational style, similar to Bill Murray's performance as Peter Venkman. Murphy was too busy shooting Beverly Hills Cop to commit. Gregory Hines was also considered for the part. Appearances Film Ghostbusters (1984) Winston Zeddemore's first on-screen appearance is in the movie Ghostbusters, when he responds to a help-wanted advertisement the team has posted in an attempt to deal with their sizable workload. Questioned extensively during his application by Janine Melnitz as to whether he believes in a large number of supernatural occurrences and beings (such as UFOs, the Loch Ness Monster and the theory of Atlantis among others), Zeddemore replies, "If there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say." When Ray Stantz and Peter Venkman return from a call, Janine introduces Zeddemore to them and Stantz immediately hires him. In the film's novelization, it is stated that Zeddemore has recently been discharged from Strategic Air Command, and has moved in with his mother Lucille while he looks for work and an apartment. He is college-educated and had electronic countermeasures training. Further, Ray is impressed at Zeddemore's military backgrounds along with