Imagine it: a world where Steve Guttenberg strapped on a proton pack.
It nearly happened. In a recent appearance on On Par with Maury Povich, the Police Academy star casually confirmed one of Hollywood’s great “what if” moments – that he was, at some point, in the orbit of the supernatural comedy that would go on to become one of the most beloved films ever made.
Ghostbusters would come out the same year as Police Academy. 1984. What a time to be alive as a movie fan.
And Steve’s reaction to being asked about it? He had to stop and think for a second whether it was even true.
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“I think I did turn it down,” he said, almost to himself, before landing on the reason.
“I think it was probably because I was working so much. For 20 years, I wasn’t home for more than two months a year. I just did picture after picture after picture.”
Just like that. One of cinema’s most iconic franchises, passed over because the man’s calendar was full.
It’s almost impossible not to let your mind run wild. Guttenberg in the firehouse. Guttenberg trading quips with Bill Murray. Guttenberg getting slimed. He was, at that moment in 1983, one of the hottest comedic talents in Hollywood – charming, quick, effortlessly likeable. He would have fit. And yet Police Academy came calling, and that was that.
In the four years after he would star in nine movies, becoming Hollywood’s busiest actor, alongside Gene Hackman.
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Many more Academy movies would follow. He would star in the first four, all released by 1987.
He doesn’t seem to lie awake about his choice. The ’80s were good to Guttenberg regardless, with franchise sequels and Three Men and a Baby keeping him firmly in the spotlight. Though he did offer one telling reflection on the ride itself: “I love the craft, I’m an artist. But the culture of it can be brutal. It’s a rough-ass business.”
And here’s where it gets even more dizzying because Guttenberg is just one thread in a much stranger tapestry. Dan Aykroyd originally wrote Ghostbusters for himself, John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy. Belushi and Murphy. That version of the film exists only in the imagination now, a ghost of its own. Belushi passed away in 1982. Murphy had to walk away due to scheduling and has since named it one of his top three career regrets, alongside Rush Hour and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
So the Ghostbusters we know and love – the one with Murray, Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson – was never the only version. It was just the version that survived. That emerged from a fog of scheduling conflicts, tragedy, and packed Hollywood calendars to become something truly magical.
Which somehow makes it feel even more miraculous. All those near-misses, and it still turned out perfect.
You can listen to GB & AJ Rewind Ghostbusters to look back at the ’84 classic on the podcast below in our handy player or in all the usual podcast places.