Paul Rudd Reveals The Saddest Thing About Making Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Early reviews for "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" call the film a love letter to the hit '80s franchise, so it's no surprise that actor Paul Rudd reportedly got emotional while shooting some of his scenes in it. What got to him the most, according to a new interview, was the absence of one of the original film's main stars.

"Working on this made me really miss [Harold Ramis]," Rudd recently told Screen Rant while discussing the making of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." Ramis, who died in 2014 from complications from autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis (via CBS News), starred in "Ghostbusters" and "Ghostbusters II," and served as a writer on both films. He was one of the franchise's original four stars, along with actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Ernie Hudson. "Afterlife" is set to feature the surviving stars in their original roles. 

Filmmaker Jason Reitman, son of original "Ghostbusters" director Ivan Reitman, helmed the movie and produced it with his father, who worked with Ramis on the 1984 and 1989 installments. During his interview with Screen Rant, Rudd went into detail about the impact Ramis' work had on him, and how his absence weighed heavy on the "Ant-Man" star's heart during the filming of "Afterlife." 

When "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" star Paul Rudd was establishing himself in the movie business, one of the most influential people that he crossed paths with was none other than Harold Ramis. "I got to know him a little bit," the 52-year-old actor recently revealed.

"I was such a huge fan growing up," Rudd told Screen Rant. "Obviously, from the films that he's written and being an 'SCTV' fan, when I met him for the first time I was pretty nervous." According to Rudd, the two of them worked together on the Judd Apatow comedy "Knocked Up," in which Ramis played Seth Rogen's on-screen dad. "We didn't have scenes together, but he was around and I met him," Rudd recalled, noting how they also spent time together while filming "Year One," which ended up being the very last film that Ramis directed (via IMDb).

"We had done readings together. I got to spend a little time with him and went out to dinner with him. He was the loveliest man. Really funny, really calm and Buddhist-like," Rudd said. "He was a really thoughtful person, considerate, funny. And he was very forthcoming in talking about what it was like starting out, talking about Bill Murray and [John] Belushi and working on Second City. I really liked him."

Rudd went on to recall how he would shoot his scenes for "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" and get emotional thinking about the late filmmaker. "Working on this made me really miss him and wish that I could talk to him again," the "Afterlife" actor said. "I was just taken with him. Like I think most people were who got to know him."