Whoopi Goldberg Revealed the Surprising Way She Got Her ‘The Color Purple’ Role

Whoopi Goldberg is taking a look back at one of her very first movie roles. While The View host is one of only a few entertainers with a prestigious EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) under her belt, she’s opening up about hustling for a part in The Color Purple as a young actress. Goldberg, who received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal as the lead Celie, revealed the surprising way she ensured she got cast in the 1985 film.

The Ghost alum revealed that persistence paired with a little creativity was the winning ticket to landing The Color Purple’s lead role while reuniting with her co-star Laurence Fishburne on The View. Fisburne, who played Swain in the movie, took a trip down memory lane as he shared that he was “elated” that Whoopi got the lead role—which apparently included a little convincing on Goldberg’s part.

Goldberg opened up about first reading the Alice Walker book that inspired the movie, which also starred Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She recalled, “My daughter and I were driving in our VW van, and we pulled over, and I was going to buy her shoes, and she said to me, ‘No mommy, don’t get me the shoes. Let’s get the book.’ And that’s how we read it.”

The Sister Act star revealed she was instantly hooked on the Pulitzer Prize winner’s book, sharing, “We read it all the way home in the car.” Once she was home, she was determined to land the part of Celie and decided to pen a letter to Walker herself.

“I wrote Alice and said I’d play dirt on the floor,” she admitted, revealing that the author was also on board with the idea. “I had been invited to New York to do my other one-person show, and she had written to me at my mom’s house and said, ‘I already told people about you, I live in Berkeley where you live, I’ve seen you.’ That’s how it happened.” 

Fishburne chimed in that playing the part skyrocketed Goldberg to stardom, adding, “I remember that …The Color Purple was so popular at that time, and Whoopi had just come off of her one-man show, and suddenly she was going back to work with Spielberg and all that stuff.”

It appears The Color Purple still holds a special place for Goldberg, as she was the only member of the original cast to make a cameo in the 2023 musical adaptation. In the newest version, Goldberg played a midwife who helps Celie (portrayed by Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) give birth to her second child.

Winfrey, who was also nominated for an Oscar for her role as Sofia in the original film, told The Hollywood Reporter at the time about the “lovely homage,” “[We] just thought it was a wonderful Easter egg for audiences who have appreciated the film over the years, for the diehards.”