Monday, September 20, 2010

CRIMINAL MINDS: GUEST STAR ERNIE HUDSON


Criminal Minds:Ernie Hudson to Guest Star on 'Criminal Minds'

He ain't afraid of no ghosts, and now Ernie Hudson of 'Ghostbusters' fame ain't afraid of no criminals either.

AOL TV was on the L.A. set of 'Criminal Minds' today, where we learned exclusively that Hudson will appear in the sixth episode of Season 6 (premieres Wed., Sept. 22, 9PM ET on CBS). How? Because he was sitting right next to me, in full uniform, between scenes.

Hudson will play Lt. Garner, a tough fire department chief helping the BAU track a pyro-happy criminal in Detroit. From the scene we watched, it seems there are a ton of victims and everyone's a suspect.

"Half the city is set on fire, and he's got a dwindling fire force and fires everywhere. But we have this serial killer who's working under the guise of Devil's Night. Garner knows the Detroit police can't do it, so he calls in the FBI to give him a hand," Hudson explains. "He's been there for a long time ... he's just feeling less and less effective."

Fun fact: Hudson and star Joe Mantegna have been friends for about 30 years, ever since they shot a movie called 'Weeds' together. Mantegna is even godfather to Hudson's youngest son.

So any chance Hudson would come back for more? "I love the show and I've had a lot of fun this week ... I'm always open! It'd be great if [my character] comes back," Hudson says.

"I've done a lot of TV shows -- 'Lost,' 'Desperate Housewives' -- and it's very hard to find room in the middle of the cast. The good stuff usually goes to the cast," he admits. "But in this particular case, they created a guest star role [for me], so there's actually something to do."

Hudson joins previously announced 'Criminal Minds' guest stars Mare Winningham, Sterling Beaumon and Tim Curry, who'll be playing a serial killer in two more episodes this season.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/09/20/exclusive-ernie-hudson-guest-star-on-criminal-minds/