Whoopi Goldberg has revealed that she almost missed out on two of her most iconic film roles, including the Oscar-winning part in Ghost. The legendary actress, one of the few to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, opened up about her career on Keke Palmer's podcast.
Ghost Casting Snub
Goldberg, 70, said she was initially stunned not to be considered for the 1990 romantic fantasy Ghost, after discovering that 'every Black woman and their mama' was auditioning for the role. When she asked why she hadn't been called, she was told that her team had 'suggested you and they didn't want you, because they felt people would take you out of the movie.'
She eventually starred alongside Demi Moore and the late Patrick Swayze, who championed her for the part. Goldberg went on to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Oda Mae Brown.
Sister Act Originally for Bette Midler
Her iconic role in Sister Act wasn't originally meant for her either. The part was written for Bette Midler, who turned it down because 'my fans don't want to see me in a wimple.'
Goldberg explained that she deliberately pursued roles that others had rejected, a strategy that proved successful. 'Apparently I'm Black. I guess I didn't realise it, so every time I went looking for something, they went, 'No, no, no, this isn't for you,'' she said, before revealing she urged her team to put her up for 'all the stuff that people have turned down.'
Career Risks and Rewards
She added: 'I got Burglar that way, because that was Bruce Willis' movie. Jumpin' Jack Flash was Shelley Long's movie. There's several, a whole bunch of movies. I felt like people really wanted to make those movies, and then the person they wanted said no.'
Goldberg acknowledged that taking on such roles wasn't without risk. 'Listen, they didn't always work on the box office, but when they got on television, people lost their minds,' she said. 'People didn't always have money to go see the movie, but they could see it on TV. A lot of my movies have become these kind of classics.'
The View and the Paycheck
Talk also turned to her hosting role on The View. Asked why she did it, she quipped that the best part was the money. 'I love the check,' she said. 'You would be shocked [by how much it is]. Listen, you would be shocked... As soon as they'd show you that check, you'd be like, 'What the...?'' It has been reported that Goldberg is paid between $6 and $8 million per year.
