Bette Midler declined the lead role in 1992 comedy 'Sister Act': My fans don't want to see me in a wimple

Bette Midler could have added one more legendary performance to her resume! The 77-year-old actress and singer confessed she declined the lead part of Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence in the 1992 comedy Sister Act, which was memorably portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg, in a new interview with Variety. Midler revealed, "They came to me with Sister Act and 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?" She added, "Jeffrey Katzenberg called me every day, [saying,] 'Please, please.'" Midler continued, "I stood my ground because I really was afraid of the costume. Isn't that amazing? I can wear anything but a nun's habit?" Also read: ‘Sex and the City’ star Willie Garson honored by his former co-stars on what would have been his 59th birthday [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1500"] Image credit: People.com[/caption] Furthermore, Goldberg, 67, was lauded by Midler, who stated that she "wore it all the way to the bank" for the movie. (According to Box Office Mojo, Sister Act and its 1993 follow-up, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, made about $300 million in theatres worldwide.) "So God bless her. And she was perfect for it," Midler said regarding Goldberg. She also claimed that she declined to play the iconic part alongside the late James Caan in the 1990 film Misery, for which 74-year-old Kathy Bates won the Best Actress Academy Award. "I just couldn't. It was too violent. The character was so not funny, so without any qualities of redemption," Midler stated. "She cut off his foot. Come on. Who does that?" On another note, Bette Midler didn't have to wait long to collaborate with a Sister Act cast member. She and Kathy Najimy played the Sanderson sisters in the 1993 film Hocus Pocus opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. And they reprised their roles nearly thirty years later in 2022's Hocus Pocus 2.