Imposing yet amiable, Hudson added a low-key, down-to-earth perspective to the zany proceedings of the "Ghostbusters" films. His performance as Solomon the handyman in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" ignited controversy, with some attacking the role as a demeaning stereotype. Nevertheless, Hudson became an actor in demand. He appeared in six features alone in 1994, including "No Escape,” as a stern chief of security of a futuristic prison, "The Cowboy Way,” as a rogue cop and "Speechless", as a scheming campaign manager. Later roles included the concerned neighbor helping Leonardo DiCaprio kick his drug habit in "The Basketball Diaries" (1995), a mercenary leading a jungle expedition in "Congo" (1996), the adoptive father of a Chinese child in "Fakin' Da Funk" and a CIA operative trailing jewel thieves in "Mr. Magoo" (both 1997). On the small screen, the actor scored as the no-nonsense prison warden in the HBO series "Oz" (1997- ) and displayed his charms as a widower whose second marriage to a white woman causes familial problems in "Clover" (USA Network, 1997).
The year 1998 saw Hudson in several films that were not released theatrically in the United States. In “A Stranger in the Kingdom.” he played an Army chaplain hired over the phone to serve as a minister in small-town Vermont only to face racial bigotry when townsfolk realize he’s black. After finding himself in a hostage situation at a diner in “October 22”, he played a detective trying to track down a piece of high-tech hardware wanted by the Russian mafia to counterfeit U.S. dollars in “Best of the Best: Without Warning”—a martial arts action-thriller that went straight-to-video. Hudson then got the chance to play the Commander in Chief in the HBO action yarn, “Stealth Fighter” (1999), about a decorated fighter pilot who steals a stealth bomber and plans to bomb American cities unless he’s paid.
In 1999, Hudson appeared in the low-rent HBO thriller “Shark Attack” (1999), in which a school of sharks are killing for pleasure off the coast of South Africa. He appeared in the CBS movie-of-the-week in “Miracle on the 17th Green” (1999) before playing Michael Jordan’s father in the unauthorized biopic, “Michael Jordan: An American Hero.” After playing a tough FBI boss in the abysmal serial killer flick, “The Watcher” (2000), Hudson appeared in the surprise comedy hit, “Miss Congeniality” (also 2000). The Sandra Bullock vehicle took in enough box office dollars to spawn the sequel, “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous” (2005), in which Hudson revived his role as McDonald, boss to a bumbling FBI agent whose newfound fame is jeopardized by her undercover work.