Whoopi Goldberg
In 2009, I interviewed actor Whoopi Goldberg for Radio Times.
What TV series would you take to a desert island?
Lost. I love the way it unfolds, and goes back and forth through time, and that makes me happy. Sci-fi offers possibilities, and I love that. It’s why I took the part [Guinan] in Star Trek [The Next Generation]. If I could take two series, I’d choose Family Guy. It’s so bad, it’s brilliant! It’s like watching someone go beyond the edge, and there’s nobody that doesn’t fall into [writer] Seth McFarLane’s sight.
Guilty TV pleasure?
I can’t think of anything. I don’t watch much TV, to be honest, because I’m working. To start with, I have a live show every day called The View. Your version is called Loose Women. I’ve been on that show. They’re very smart women, but I thought they could be edgier. The View gets into all kinds of discussions, not just the girlie stuff, but politics, and stuff that’s happening. I guess that’s not what the folks want there.
Last person you changed the channel to avoid?
I can’t think of anything either! George Bush? No, my politics don’t let me avoid folks I don’t like. I have to know what they’re saying. But the movie I would turn off is The Exorcist. It’s the scariest movie ever made. I always avoid it.
Last TV show you recommended to a friend?
Have you guys gotten V yet? It’s a new sci-fi series, based on an old series. The gambit is, these aliens arrive, looking just like us, and they appear to be our fiends, but slowly they start to choke the human race. And then there’s The Cleaner, about a recovering drug addict who takes care of other drug and alcohol-distressed people, but he’s very unconventional in his methods, like he’d literally snatch them off the streets. But it was just cancelled. Nothing is ever on long enough to stand a chance.
Your price to appear on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here?
I’ve never heard of that. [RT explains the concept] Oh. Is it a reality show? I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to reality shows. There would be no price. I live in reality; I don’t need to watch other people’s.
Who from TV/radio would you like to take out for drink/dinner?
Peter O’Toole. He’s one of the finest actors ever, and all the other fine actors, I’ve met. I don’t know what we’d talk about, though. Perhaps his acting, if he was interested. But I’ve found that when I meet people for the first time, you have to let the fan in them get past that point so they can have a conversation with you as a person. But as an actor, O’Toole can do everything, and I love that in people because I want to be able to do everything.
First TV personality you fancied?
Mighty Mouse. I like a guy who can fly! I was a very bizarre kid as you can tell.
Who was different to how you expected them to be?
I don’t know. When people meet me, they’re on their best behaviour!
If you’re unwell, what favourite movie would you watch?
Ten Little Indians [actually called And Then There Were None], the 1940s version, based on the Agatha Christie story. It’s a slap-your-knee, ‘dammit!’ kind of movie, and no matter how often I see it, it’s just perfect. And Mr Skeffington with Claude Rains and Bette Davis. She’s meant to be one of the most beautiful women but she gets ill and her looks fade. But the man who loved her, who she treated quite dastardly, tells her several times during the movie that “a woman is most beautiful when she’s loved.”
Last film you walked out of?
If I wasn’t Whoopi Goldberg, I probably would have several! If I walk out, someone is writing about it.
Which film would you take someone to see on a date?
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Because Errol Flynn is magnificent, and Bette Davis is killer.
Who would play you in a film or TV show of your life?
I don’t know. If I was white, it would be easier! If you painted Meryl Streep, she could do me because she can do everybody!
