On March 5, 1982, comic great John Belushi died at 33 of an overdose, and the late star's friend and colleague, Dan Aykroyd, is opening up about what could've been.

Had Belushi lived, Aykroyd tells "Showbiz Tonight" in an exclusive interview, “He would be directing plays and musicals. He would be one of the premier directors on Broadway."

The actor continues, "that would have been his destiny, because he was so intelligent and so well referenced there. He was more of an academic than the 'Bluto' image would have you believe.”

And although cocaine and heroin had a role in his death, Aykroyd says that during "the last summer of his life, not a powder nor a pill did he touch. Nothing. Just smoked a little bud, that was it. And wine and beer and food, you know. If he'd been a pot head he'd be alive today. ‘Cause that doesn't kill ya."

Catch the full interview on "Showbiz Tonight" on HLN at 11 p.m. ET/PT Monday.