Whoopi Goldberg inSister Act; Bette Midler.Photo: Suzanne Hanover/Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock; Jason Mendez/Getty
Bette Midlercould’ve had one more iconicacton her résumé!
“They came to me withSister Actand I said, ‘My fans don’t want to see me in a wimple.’ Can you believe that? How off the wall is that? How crazy is that?” recalled Midler. “Jeffrey Katzenbergcalled me every day, [saying,] ‘Please, please.’ "
“I stood my ground because I really was afraid of the costume. Isn’t that amazing?” she added. “I can wear anything but a nun’s habit?”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
Kathy Najimy, Whoopi Goldberg and Wendy Makkena inSister Act 2: Back in the Habit(1993).Everett
But Midler praised Goldberg, 67, whom she said “wore it all the way to the bank” for the film. (Sister Actand its 1993 sequel,Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, made closeto $300 millioncombined in theaters worldwide, according toBox Office Mojo.)
“So God bless her. And she was perfect for it,” Midler said of Goldberg.
She also said she turned downKathy Bates' iconic role in 1990’sMiseryopposite the lateJames Caan, for which Bates, 74, went on to win the Best ActressAcademy Award.
“I just couldn’t. It was too violent. The character was so not funny, so without any qualities of redemption,” said Midler. “She cut off his foot. Come on. Who does that?”
RELATED VIDEO: Whoopi Goldberg’s Words of Wisdom to Broadway’sSister ActStar Patina Miller
Midler didn’t have to wait long to team up with one of the Sister Act cast members, though. In 1993, she and Kathy Najimy starred alongside Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus. They reprised their roles nearly three decades later in 2022’sHocus Pocus 2.
On an October 2022 episode ofThe View, Goldberg admitted that the buzz surrounding the latter film sparked her interest in taking part in athird installment ofSister Act.
In regards to making a return toSister Act, Najimy, 66, said onThe View, “I haven’t heard anything formal about3yet; I’ve heard rumblings of it. I think it’d be a blast of fun. I look forward to the nuns that we were with that are still with us, seeing them again. They were fantastic, so much fun.”
Najimy then asked Goldberg, “Where is that at? Is that happening?”
Goldberg replied, “It took a little while, but it’s happening. Youall helped that happen, I think, because they broughtHocus Pocusback. They finally said, ‘We might as well put those nuns back out there and see if they have any juice.’ "
source: people.com
