Who Ya Gonna Call? See the ‘Ghostbusters’ 1984 Cast Then and Now!

It’s been nearly 40 years since the release of one of the most iconic comedy movies ever — a film that spawned a major film franchise, a massive comic book series and characters we’re still enjoying today. Ghostbusters, which was released in 1984, was a major success and that’s in great part due to the Ghostbusters 1984 cast.

The film drew in over $295 million at the box office and was the number one film in theaters for seven consecutive weeks. The star-studded cast includes Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Dan Aykroyd, which definitely helped in turning the film into a success.

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An unexpected twist about the Oscar-nominated film is that most of the scenes had ad-libbed lines. Bill Murray improvised most of his lines, as he was an improv comedian years before he joined the Ghostbusters 1984 cast.

Fans of the original can get a blast from the past in the new film, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, as the 1984 characters make a return.

But if you’re feeling nostalgic and missing the first film, catch up with the Ghostbusters 1984 cast.

Bill Murray as Peter Venkman: Ghostbusters 1984 cast

After Ghostbusters, Bill Murray went on to become an even bigger star, though he was already famous. Dan Aykroyd explained how lucky the Ghostbusters 1984 cast was to have him.

“There would’ve been no success without Murray,” Aykroyd said. “We don’t do these things alone, but I credit 50 percent of the success of that whole adventure to him, and we’ll never see the likes of it again.”

Murray starred in dozens of massive blockbusters, including Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Scrooged (1988), Groundhog Day (1993) and Larger Than Life (1996). For his 2003 film Lost in Translation, he won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy or Musical. The actor was up against other major stars, among them Johnny Depp and Jack Black.

Murray went on to star in all of the Ghostbusters films that were released as his original character, except for the 2016 version, where he played Dr. Martin Heiss. His other major films include Rushmore (1998), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012).

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Dan Aykroyd as Raymond Stantz

Dan Aykroyd, who is famously known for his time as Raymond Stantz in the Ghostbusters 1984 cast, had a major movie career after the film. Other movies that starred Aykroyd include My Girl (1991), Coneheads (1993) and Christmas with the Kranks (2004), among many others.

The Saturday Night Live alum is also credited as a writer on many of his movies, including Ghostbusters and he, too, starred in each of the franchise’s films. Some of Aykroyd’s recent projects include Tammy (2014), Hotel Paranormal (2021), Workin’ Moms (2023) and Zombie Town (2023).

The Ghostbusters director, Ivan Reitman, shared how in awe he is of Aykroyd. “Danny was one of the writing geniuses of our era… He created the Coneheads, the Blues Brothers: all of this comes out of that wonderful brain.” Reitman continued that he “was an idea factory.”

Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett: Ghostbusters 1984 cast

The Ghostbuster 1984 cast member, Sigourney Weaver, is an easily recognized name. The Alien alum starred in the first four films of the franchise. Some of Weaver’s other hits include Gorillas in the Mist (1988), Dave (1993), and Galaxy Quest (1999). She was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for her role in Gorillas in the Mist.

In 2009, the actress had a major role in the Oscar-winning film, Avatar. The actress came back for the second Avatar film, saying of her new character, “I play Kiri, who is the adopted daughter of Neytiri and Jake. And Kiri also has a connection with Grace Augustine, who was the scientist in the first one that I played.” The actress is set to return for the third, fourth and fifth films, too.

Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler

Dr. Egon Spengler was portrayed by none other than Harold Ramis. Some of his other major movies include co-starring with Murray in Stripes (1981), Baby Boom (1987), Groundhog Day (1993) and Knocked Up (2007). Ramis also served as a writer on dozens of films, including Ghostbusters.

Unfortunately, he passed in 2014 at age 69, so he was missed from the more recent Ghostbusters films. His costar, Ernie Hudson, remembered the actor and their time on the film. Hudson said, “Harold was always the guy who helped me make sense out of everything… I give him a lot of credit for how I’ve been able to sustain myself in this industry, just his practical, commonsense approach to work.”

Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddmore: Ghostbusters 1984 cast

Since his time in the Ghostbusters 1984 cast, Ernie Hudson has starred in dozens of movies and TV shows. As for his return to the Ghostbusters franchise, Hudson was thrilled about the film. “It was amazing to watch this new cast of people bringing it into another generation,” he explained.

Some of his movies include Airheads (1994), The Crow (1994), Congo (1995) and Miss Congeniality (2000). Hudson has also appeared in dozens of major series like How I Met Your Mother (2011), Once Upon a Time (2015), Grey’s Anatomy (2011) and Blue Bloods (2018). The actor starred in the series L.A’s Finest from 2019 to 2020 as Joseph Vaughn. His other major series include The Family Business (2022) and Quantum Leap (2024).

Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz

Annie Potts‘ career skyrocketed after her role in Ghostbusters. Her first major success to follow that was Pretty in Pink (1986). That same year, the actress booked a lead role on the comedy series Designing Women as Mary Jo Shively. As one of the core four, Potts remained on the show for its entirety until 1993.

Potts went on to voice Bo Peep in multiple Toy Story films. Her most recent role has been as Meemaw on Young Sheldon, which will end this year. When Potts spoke with FIRST for Women, she explained that “the show is very consumable, because the episodes end up being about 18-19 minutes long – so you can watch three in an hour. It’s a good fit there, and it’s a great show.”

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Rick Moranis as Louis Tully: Ghostbusters 1984 cast

After Ghostbusters, Rick Moranis had a very successful movie career. Some of his major projects include Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Spaceballs (1987) and Parenthood (1989). His Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) was such a success, that it spawned a trilogy, all starring Moranis as the lead. Later, he starred in the Disney film Brother Bear (2003). His upcoming project is Shrunk, a film based on Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.