“I’ll probably do it” — When Rick Moranis made his feelings clear about coming out of retirement for the right project

Frederick Allan Moranis, better known as Rick Moranis, is a Canadian actor, comedian, singer, songwriter, and producer. He began his career as a radio disc jockey in the mid-1970s, which led to live performances, comedy radio specials, and several television comedy pilots.

He started his acting career in 1980 when he joined the cast of Second City Television, or SCTV (1976-1984), gaining popularity for his celebrity impressions. Along with Dave Thomas, Moranis co-created The Great White North, a sketch featured on SCTV that received extremely positive feedback from both Canadian and US audiences.

Rick Moranis' performances in Strange Brew (1983) and Streets of Fire (1984) propelled him to stardom and helped establish him as one of the most well-known actors of the decade. Some of his most iconic films include Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Spaceballs (1987), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and Parenthood (1989), to name a few.

Despite the success of his career, Rick Moranis has been on an acting hiatus for over two decades, following the demise of his wife due to cancer. He chose to step away from acting to focus on being a full-time father. He notably turned down a role in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, which featured cameos from most of the other original cast members.

This decision sparked a strong reaction from fans. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on October 7, 2015, Moranis explained that he was open to acting again but felt the cameo did not make sense to him. He stated:

"I took a break, which turned into a longer break. But I'm interested in anything that I would find interesting. I still get the occasional query about a film or television role and as soon as one comes along that piques my interest, I'll probably do it. [But Ghostbusters] didn't appeal to me."

He further elaborated on his hiatus by saying:

"Stuff happens to people all the time, and people make adjustments, change careers, move to another city. Really, that’s all I did."

However, there is some good news for Rick Moranis fans: he is set to reprise his role as Dark Helmet in the upcoming Spaceballs sequel, scheduled for release in 2027.

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Rick Moranis on his life and work

In the same interview, Rick Moranis—now 73—stated that he has no regrets about how his life turned out. He shared that people were always nice to him upon meeting him and got nostalgic over old movies, which, he noted, had a certain charm and were free of the explicit language or scenes often found in many newer films.

He explained that despite his hiatus, he has kept busy with voice work and writing projects in Manhattan. He voiced Rutt in Disney's Brother Bear (2003), released comedy albums (My Mother’s Brisket, 2013), and did Canadian radio commercials. He was also an op-ed writer for The New York Times.

At the time of the interview, Moranis was residing on the Upper West Side of New York, doing voice and writing projects. He understood the difficulty in coming up with original material that keeps the nostalgia alive but admitted that sometimes the studios do get it right. He ended the interview by saying:

"I'm happy with the things I said yes to, and I'm very happy with the many things I've said no to. Yes, I am picky, and I’ll continue to be picky. Picky has worked for me."

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Moranis will appear as Dark Helmet in Amazon MGM's Spaceballs movie, which is slated for a 2027 release.